Long Beach's boxlike superstructure mattered to combat-system history. Its four fixed panels resembled the arrangement on the nuclear carrier Enterprise and housed the AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33. One system provided broad air surveillance while the other handled target tracking, dividing functions that later systems would integrate more effectively. These early arrays should not be compared directly with mature successors, though they were an important step on the path toward Aegis.
Notable Point · 8:47-10:57
SPS-32 and SPS-33 on the path toward Aegis
Long Beach's fixed SPS-32 and SPS-33 arrays were limited first-generation systems, but their surveillance and tracking roles foreshadowed later integrated air-defense radars.