US Navy Orders $14.3M Saab SPN-50 Radar to Replace 1960s Carrier Air Traffic Control System

The U.S. Navy exercised a $14.3 million contract option on October 22, 2026, for one additional low-rate-production Saab AN/SPN-50 shipboard air-traffic-control radar. Saab is scheduled to manufacture the unit in East Syracuse, New York, by June 2028 under an existing Naval Air Systems Command agreement. Based on the Sea Giraffe Agile Multi-Beam family, the three-dimensional C-band radar will replace the ageing AN/SPN-43C used around aircraft carriers and large amphibious ships. Modernization also addresses frequency-sharing restrictions affecting the legacy radar near U.S. coastlines, while the award covers one unit rather than an entire fleet replacement.