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Lockheed Martin [LMT] on Tuesday said it has successfully conducted the first live object tracking using the AN/SPY-7(V)2 radar the company is developing for Spain’s five-ship F-110 multi-mission frigate program.
The demonstration on Dec. 13, 2024, was conducted with F-110 shipbuilder Navantia at Lockheed Martin’s Aegis SCOMBA Integration Center in Moorestown, N.J., using the SPY-7 to track objects in space to calibrate the radar and confirm system maturity and readiness for comprehensive performance testing, Paul Lemmo, president of the Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors business line, told Defense Daily last week.
The successful demonstration means the radar and the F-110 are on track to meet the commissioning date of the ship in 2028, he said in an interview ahead of the announcement. The radars will begin shipping in 2026 with commissioning of the first ship set for early 2028.
Live track is important for a first of class radar because hardware and software are joined and operated to track items of interest, verifying operation and marking the start of the comprehensive performance testing that will be conducted over the next year-plus in Moorestown, Mike Koch, Lockheed Martin’s senior program manager for the Spain Aegis Programs, said during a virtual media briefing on Tuesday.
In the coming months all the components of the SPY-7 radar will be integrated and tested with the company’s Aegis tactical equipment and Navantia’s SCOMBA tactical equipment that are part of the F-110 to demonstrate a fully integrated and calibrated system. SCOMBA is a combat management system developed by Navantia for military vessels.
The SPY-7 is used to detect, track, and engage ballistic missile and other advance air threats, allowing interceptors to attack multiple targets simultaneously, the company says. The radar is a maritime derivative of Lockheed Martin’s Long Range Discrimination Radar developed for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to help defend the homeland from ballistic missile attacks.
The live tracking event follows the successful critical design review last summer, a key milestone that cleared the path to start full-rate production of the SPY-7 radar for the F-110 program.
In addition to Spain, Canada and Japan have selected the SPY-7 for their maritime radar.
Lockheed Martin is also forming a partnership with Navantia to establish a land-based test site in San Fernando, Spain, where testing will continue on the combat system to meet the needs of the Spanish navy over the life of the program, Lemmo said. The site will enable the testing of system upgrades before they are integrated on the ship, he said.
Lemmo likened the site in Spain to the Navy’s Combat System Engineering Development Site in Moorestown that is operated by Lockheed Martin for research, development, and testing as part of the Aegis program.
