Raytheon, a RTX business has secured a contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to further develop advanced radar software for modern naval platforms.
The agreement tasks Raytheon’s Advanced Technology team with creating software that allows individual components within radar systems to function independently.
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This will enable one radar to carry out multiple functions at the same time, RTX said in a statement on 18 May 2026.
Raytheon’s software will allow each radar building block to work as a self-contained, software-defined aperture.
This solution is intended to allow rapid adaptation to new operational requirements and improve the radar’s ability to operate within congested electromagnetic environments, including areas where commercial networks such as 5G are active.
Raytheon Advanced Technology president Colin Whelan said: “The electromagnetic spectrum is more crowded than ever, and our systems have to be smarter about how they operate in it.
“With precise, software-driven control over where and how we radiate, we’re taking an important step forward in how we use software-defined apertures to keep pace with evolving mission demands.”
Raytheon’s approach builds on its previous work with software-defined apertures and adopts a flexible, modular architecture.
This method focuses on delivering updates and performance upgrades through software rather than complete hardware redesigns, aiming to enable faster adaptation, cost savings, and lower risk during implementation.
Upon concluding the software development phase, Raytheon plans a set of demonstrations to verify the independent control of radar modules and the system’s capabilities for multi-mission operations and spectrum sharing.
The company intends to transition the technology into useable naval radar systems once it completes successful validation.
This recent contract follows a previous award in March of this year, where Raytheon received a $40.25m cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department.
This earlier agreement covered operations and maintenance for the relocatable over-the-horizon radar (ROTHR) at the Forces Surveillance Support Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.
