Raytheon Advances Software-Defined Naval Radar Technology

On May 18, 2026, Raytheon announced it received a contract from the Office of Naval Research to continue developing software for naval radar systems. The project focuses on improving radar flexibility by allowing a single system to perform multiple missions at the same time while operating more efficiently in crowded electromagnetic environments.

The new radar software uses a modular, software-defined architecture that allows each radar component to function independently. After development is completed, Raytheon plans to conduct demonstrations to validate multi-mission performance and spectrum-sharing capabilities before transitioning the technology into operational naval radar systems.