In addition to tailoring the aircraft for carrier-based operation by the Royal Navy, de Havilland implemented major changes to the Sea Vixen during its redesign. Throughout the 1950s, when the DH 110 design was still being evolved, major advances had occurred in subsystems such as weaponry, fire-control system, radar equipment, and cockpit instrumentation. The concept of an aircraft being an integrated weapons system had proliferated, where sensors such as the radar would be more directly tied into navigation and weapons systems. de Havilland included this concept in the design of the Sea Vixen. According to aviation author David Hobbs, it was the first British fighter aircraft to be designed in this manner.