August 1, 2005 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The massive X-band radar mounted onto one of the world’s largest oil-rigs has now been dedicated, with a formal announcement today by Air Force Lt. General Trey Obering, head of the Missile Defense Agency Director, at a ceremony today at Kiewit Offshore Services at Corpus Christi, Texas.
An excerpt from the MDA press release:
The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is a unique combination of an advanced X-Band radar mounted aboard an ocean-going, semi-submersible platform that provides the Ballistic Missile Defense System with a missile tracking and discrimination capability that can be positioned to cover any part of the globe to support both missile defense operations and testing. The platform is twin-hulled, self-propelled and very stable in rough seas and turbulent sea conditions. Its ocean-spanning mobility allows the radar to be repositioned as needed to support the various test scenarios envisioned for the Ballistic Missile Defense System or to provide radar coverage of possible threat missile launches from anywhere in the world.
The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is 240 feet wide and 390 feet long. It towers more than 280 feet from its keel to the top of the radome and displaces nearly 50,000 tons. Larger than a football field, the main deck houses living quarters, workspaces, storage, power generation, a bridge and control rooms while providing the floor space and infrastructure necessary to support the radar antenna array, command, control and communications suites and an in-flight interceptor communication system data terminal.
The Sea-Based X-Band Radar recently returned from preliminary sea trials, and preparations are underway for further tests and the transit of the vessel later this year to its homeport of Adak, Alaska.
(Article)
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