Russian Early Warning Radar Installed at Lekhtusi
April 12, 2007 :: Itar-Tass :: News
Russia's Voronezh radar system at Lekhtusi in the Leningrad Region is capable of producing an early warning of missile attack, said Defense Minister Anatoly Serdiukov on Wednesday. "The radar is a sample of a fundamentally new generation of such systems of domestic manufacture," the Defense Ministry's press-service quotes Serdyukov as saying. "It has extremely high combat and operating parameters." (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Detection and Tracking, Russia
WSJ on Sea-Based X-Band Radar
November 29, 2006 :: The Wall Street Journal :: News
Jonathan Karp in The Wall Street Journal recently profiled the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), an advanced radar system mounted on a semi-submersible oil-drilling rig that is able to track, discriminate, and assess incoming ballistic missiles. “Shrouded in a 10-story-high dome,” Karp writes, “the SBX radar sits atop the semi-submersible oil rig like a giant golf ball on a tee. The Teflon-coated, Kevlar-like fabric of the inflated dome is designed to withstand winds up to 150 miles an hour. Inside, the radar soars toward the roof, its octagonal face covering 4,100 square feet.” The SBX, built by Raytheon, contains 45,000 electronic modules that transmit and receive data, he notes. It can send multiple beams in different directions, changing their aim in fractions of a second, which allows the radar to track several objects at once and compensate for the rig’s movement in ocean swells.
Karp describes the program’s many high-tech breakthroughs. He notes that the SBX can “track a baseball hurtling through space at 15,000 miles an hour,” produce detailed images of incoming warheads, and “distinguish a decoy from the real McCoy.” The system is also highly mobile and can be deployed close to perceived threats, thus gaining precious time for U.S. interceptors to destroy incoming missiles. At the same time, Karp also describes a series of “technical snafus” surrounding the semi-submersible oil-drilling rig carrying the radar. In March 2006, a leaky valve caused water to flood into the SBX’s pontoon, forcing the rig to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. In June, an electrical fault tripped circuit breakers, stranding the SBX in port for two more weeks of repairs. If all had gone according to plan, the SBX would be already deployed off the Aleutian Islands in Alaska ready to defend against threats from North Korea. Instead, the system remains in Hawaii, 2,000 km and many months away from its final destination, he writes.
The radar, however, was performing well enough that the Pentagon used the SBX to monitor North Korea’s missile launch in July 2006. The Pentagon then delayed the system’s preparations for Alaska again so that the radar could participate in the September 1 ground-based interceptor test, the most important U.S. test to date. During this test, a target missile was fired from Alaska was destroyed by an interceptor missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Floating off the California coast, SBX successfully tracked both missiles and their warheads as they collided. Brigadier General Patrick O’Reilly, who now oversees the ground-based missile-defense program, referred to the test as a “watershed event,” because it demonstrated that SBX could do its job once integrated into the missile shield’s command structure. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Detection and Tracking, Sea-Based Systems
Raytheon to Design Alternative Missile Warning Satellite
September 6, 2006 :: MarketWatch :: News
Raytheon has won a $54 million contract to develop the Alternative Infrared Satellite System (AIRSS), an alternative missile warning system to Lockheed Martin’s Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). The Pentagon decided to launch the AIRSS program because of recurring difficulties with SBIRS, a $10 billion effort that has been plagued by cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor government management. SBIRS was restructured last December, although the system could be delayed to save money. Current plans call for the Pentagon to weigh the alternative system against the main project in 2008. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Detection and Tracking
» Missile system details for: Space-Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High)
U.S. Considers Second Mobile X-Band Radar for Japan
August 23, 2006 :: Kyodo :: News
Kyodo reports that the U.S. is considering the deployment of a second mobile X-band radar in the Western Pacific in response to North Korea’s firing of ballistic missile last month. The article quotes an unnamed Pentagon official who said that four candidate sites for the second radar are Kyushu and Okinawa in southern Japan, as well as South Korea and Guam. The official added that the second radar would be located in the southern part of the region in an attempt to expand the scope of tracking North Korean missiles in combination with the first mobile X-band radar system already deployed in Aomori in northern Japan. The Aomori radar was deployed as part of a U.S.-Japan agreement in May on realigning U.S. forces in Japan. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Japan, Detection and Tracking
» Missile system details for: Forward-Based X-Band Radar-Transportable, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
MDA Considers Caucasus for Possible X-Band Radar Site
July 28, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has identified the Caucasus region as a possible location for the deployment of a mobile X-band radar, reports Jane’s Defence Weekly in the August 2 issue. Rick Lehner, an MDA spokesman, recently told Jane’s that the region would be a “good location for a small X-band radar to provide tracking and discrimination of missiles launched from Iran.” Lehner’s comments followed the release of an MDA fact sheet for Block 2008 development that referred to an unnamed country in the Caucasus as a potential site for transportable sensors. The disclosure has prompted speculation as to whether MDA is considering Georgia, which has extensive military cooperation with the U.S., or Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Iran and has reportedly received U.S. funds for the construction of two radar installations. (Link)
» More stories on: Former Soviet Republics, Iran, Detection and Tracking
Jane’s M&R on Russian Tests of Modular Missile Radar
February 6, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Jane’s Missiles and Rockets reports that Russia has begun testing a next-generation early-warning radar. The new system, designated Voronezh-DM, features a modular design, meaning that it will not require major construction work at planned locations, and therefore can be rapidly deployed to deal with new threats. In contrast, Russia’s existing Daryal (Pechora) radar in Azerbaijan and two Dnepr (Hen House) radars in Ukrainian Sevastopol and Mukachevo are massive structures located at fixed sites. The prototype Voronezh-DM, which was developed by the Scientific Research Institute of Long-Range Radio Communication, has been installed at a site near St. Petersburg, where it will become part of the missile defense of northwest Russia. In addition, Russia plans to deploy additional modular radars along its southern frontiers to cover the sectors currently monitored by the radars in Azerbaijan and Ukraine. This will end Russia’s current dependence on sites that lie outside of its territory. (Link)
» More stories on: Former Soviet Republics, Russia, Detection and Tracking
Russia to Build New Missile Radar in South
January 31, 2006 :: Itar-Tass :: News
A new missile warning radar will be built in southern Russia, announced Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Tuesday. Itar-Tass quotes Ivanov as saying that the threat of tactical or cruise missiles from the south is “quite possible,” and that Russia intends to “increase the time from observation of target to impact regarding all types of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic, tactical, and cruise missiles.” He added that the new radar will allow Russia to end its dependence on foreign elements such as the Daryal radar in Azerbaijan and the two Dnepr radars in Ukrainian Sevastopol and Mukachevo.
The range at which the new radar will be able to detect an incoming missile will be the same as existing radars, up to 6,000 km. Ivanov made the announcement at the missile warning facility at Lekhtusi, near St. Petersburg. Unlike the “meter-band” Lekhtusi radar, the new radar is said to be more precise, operating in the decimeter band.
Although the location of the new radar seems not to have been specified, a facility in southern Russia with a range of 6,000 km would probably be of use to any missile launched in the vicinity of Iran. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Detection and Tracking
Russia To Have 18 GLONASS Satellites Orbiting by 2008
January 20, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) will include 18 satellites in orbit by 2008, reports RIA Novosti. GLONASS, which is not yet operational, currently has 17 satellites in orbit, following the recent launch of Cosmos-2417, Cosmos-2418, and Cosmos-2419 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in December 2005. RIA Novosti quotes Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin, commander of the Russian Space Troops, as stating that six more satellites will be launched as backups to the main satellites. A separate article notes that all 24 GLONASS satellites could be operational by 2009, ahead of the originally planned date of 2012. Once operational, GLONASS will provide global positioning services for various military and civilian customers. (Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Detection and Tracking
Australia’s Jindalee Radar Profiled
January 9, 2006 :: News
Australia’s Jindalee radar system, capable of “seeing” over the horizon, was recently profiled in The Australian. While standard radar sends a signal along line of sight until it bounces off its target (and therefore cannot “see” beyond the horizon), Jindalee bounces signals off the ionosphere, which lies above the stratosphere and extends about 1,000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. The signal then bounces down onto its target, allowing Jindalee to detect threats over the horizon. In this manner, Jindalee, officially known as the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), will significantly increase the time during which the U.S. and its allies can intercept incoming ballistic missiles. The Australian notes that Jindalee will be part of a larger electronic network, including spy satellites and Aegis destroyers, able to pick up the launch of a missile and determine its course and destination. Australia plans to buy three air warfare destroyers, to be equipped with the Aegis BMD system.
In July 2004, the United States and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding pledging cooperation on missile defense for the next twenty five years. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Australia, Detection and Tracking
» Missile system details for: Project DUNDEE
BMDS Sensor Test
January 9, 2006 :: News
Raytheon has successfully tested the Tactical Component Network (TCN), a sensor network for the U.S. missile defense architecture. TCN is designed to network vast numbers of diverse sensor systems, such as early warning and tracking satellites, and maximize their ability to contribute to a single integrated air picture over existing communication systems. The project is funded by MDA. (Article, Link)
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