Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
July 4, 2008
IWG Report 2007
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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Home :: Missile Defense Systems
Fylingdales Early Warning Radar
| Country: | USA |
|---|---|
| Associated Country: | Great Britain |
Details
The Fylingdales Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar System (Flyingdales BMEWS) is located at the RAF Fylingdales Air Base in the United Kingdom. It provides a key element of the U.S. defense strategy and an essential part of the U.S. missile defense architecture. Its function is to detect, track, and provide tactical warning and attack assessment of ballistic missiles launched against the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
The Fylingdales BMEWS is a 3-faced phased array radar that operates in the UHF (420-450 MHz) frequency range. It is currently part of the larger BMEWS radar network, which dates back to the early 1960s, and includes radars located in Thule, Greenland, and Clear, Alaska. The Fylingdales radar became operational in 1953, and served as a key NATO listening post during the Cold War.(1)
In recent years, the United States has been upgrading the Fylingdales BMEWS, which will be a critical link in a chain of similar installations stretching from Alaska to Australia designed to avert potential ballistic missile attacks against North America. In April 2005, the Missile Defense Agency announced that the upgraded radar will be ready by early 2006, which will be able to detect potential threats from the Middle East.(2)
Russia has voiced its concerns over the Fylingdales base, claiming that the U.S. plans to deploy missile interceptors along with the upgraded radar system. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the establishment of missile defense interceptors in the United Kingdom would impair the capabilities of Russia’s offensive nuclear forces. Yet at the same time, Russia has acknowledged that is does not possess official information as to U.S. intentions concerning Fylingdales.(3)
Footnotes
- GlobalSecurity.org, “Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar System (BMEWS) at Fylingdales (U),” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/1999/nssrm/initiatives/fyling.htm, accessed on 27 July 2005.
- “U.S. Establishing Limited Defense Against Long-Range Missiles,” States News Service, 8 April 2005.
- “Moscow Worried About Possible Missile Interceptor Deployment in Britain,” Interfax, 20 October 2004.
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