Engineered for combat: RADHAZ team keeps the fleet in the fight

Engineered for combat: RADHAZ team keeps the fleet in the fight

By Morgan Tabor, NSWCDD Corporate Communications

In modern naval warfare, the most powerful sensors on a warship can be just as dangerous to its own crew as they are to an adversary if not engineered correctly. High-energy radars, communications systems and electronic emitters operate simultaneously in dense, unforgiving environments. If radiation hazards are misunderstood or mismanaged, the result is not just risk to Sailors, but mission-killing restrictions that limit a ship's ability to fight.

Preventing that outcome is the mission of the Radiation Hazards Environment Characterization group at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.

Led by Christian Armstrong, Radiation Hazards (RADHAZ) technical lead, the team ensures the Navy's most advanced combat systems can operate at full capability without endangering personnel, degrading weapons or restricting operations. Their work directly enables fleet readiness, deterrence and warfighting lethality, often determining whether a system can remain online in critical moments.

"Our job is to quantify the electromagnetic environments created by these systems and analyze how they interact with people, weapons and fuel," Armstrong said. "That allows us to provide safety guidance that still preserves operational capability for the fleet."

RADHAZ engineering addresses hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance, personnel and fuel. Navy ships and shore installations are packed with radiating systems operating in close proximity, often with little margin for error.

The consequences of failure are immediate and severe: personnel overexposure topside, degraded ordnance performance or restrictions that force commanders to limit sensor use during critical operations.

"From an engineering standpoint, you can always say 'turn the system off,' but that doesn't work operationally," Armstrong said. "The fleet needs those sensors available when it matters most."

To avoid overly restrictive guidance, RADHAZ engineers conduct detailed shipboard surveys across the fleet. Teams deploy year-round, traveling to every ship on a five-year cycle to exercise radiating systems and measure real-world electromagnetic environments. The data they collect is used to develop control measures and emission control procedures that protect Sailors and ordnance while preserving combat effectiveness.

As the Navy transitions to active electronically scanned array radars and solid-state technologies, RADHAZ engineering has become even more critical. These systems deliver unprecedented capability, but produce complex, non-deterministic electromagnetic environments that cannot be fully characterized through testing alone.

To stay ahead of that challenge, the Dahlgren Division RADHAZ team built a high-fidelity modeling and simulation capability that allows engineers to predict electromagnetic effects before systems are installed or even built. That shift has changed how systems are fielded.

"That modeling allows us to be proactive instead of reactive," Armstrong said. "We can help shape system requirements and reduce risk before the fleet ever sees the system."

This capability has been essential for major Navy radar programs, including the AN/SPY-6 family of radars including the Air and Missile Defense Radar deployed on Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyers and the Enterprise Air Surveillance
Radar deployed on amphibious ships and aircraft carriers. RADHAZ engineers support system testing, certification and fleet introduction, ensuring advanced sensors deliver combat power without unintended constraints.

The Dahlgren Division team's reputation for technical rigor has extended beyond the Navy. As the Department of War advances integrated air and missile defense efforts, other services increasingly rely on Dahlgren Division's RADHAZ expertise for site planning and system integration.

"Other services are coming to us because they trust the work we've done for the Navy," Armstrong said. "They know we can help them avoid installing systems that can't operate together."

That trust is built on experience and continuity. The RADHAZ team includes roughly 45 government and contractor engineers and support personnel, many of whom have worked together for more than a decade. Their shared experience, combined with strong leadership support, allows the team to respond quickly to emerging threats and evolving technology.

"We wouldn't be able to do this without the entire team," Armstrong said. "It takes collaboration, humility and a shared understanding of how important this work is to the mission."

As the Navy fields more powerful sensors and prepares for contested electromagnetic environments, RADHAZ engineering remains a critical enabler of deterrence and combat readiness. By ensuring systems can operate safely without sacrificing capability, the team delivers confidence to Sailors and leadership alike.

"Our work delivers safety guidance that provides operational capability," Armstrong said. "It's about maintaining safety without overly restricting the systems the fleet relies on to fight and win."