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July 8, 2008
IWG Report 2007
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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Project DUNDEE
| Alternate Name: | Down Under Early Warning Experiment |
|---|---|
| Country: | USA |
| Associated Country: | Australia |
Details
Project DUNDEE (Down Under Early Warning Experiment) was a series of missile defense experiments conducted in September 1997 by the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). The purpose of Project DUNDEE was to test whether Australia’s Jindalee over-the-horizon radar and other sensors could detect theater ballistic missile launches.(1)
During these experiments, the BMDO and the DSTO launched four Terrier-Orion tactical surface-to-air rockets, modified with radar cross-sections which resembled typical theater ballistic missiles. The four missiles were fired from a coastal military launch area on the northwest corner of Australia between Broome and Port Hedland, and traveled 100 km out to sea. The BMDO and DSTO were thus able to test the capacity of a range of land- and space-based sensors, including the Jindalee over-the-horizon radar based at Alice Springs near Central Australia.(2) In the end, the Jindalee radar worked as expected, and the experiments were successful.
Project DUNDEE exists today as a high profile example of international contribution to U.S. missile defense development, and evidence of Australia’s close relationship with the United States. Although Australia’s former Minister for Defence Ian McLachlan remarked at the time that Australia had no plans to develop its own theater missile defense system, he noted that it was important to acquire an understanding of missile defense technologies.(3)
Footnotes
- Max Blenkin, “Fed: Australia Plays Role in Missile Defence,” AAP Newsfeed, 5 December 2003.
- “Ballistic Simulation Tests Australian Radar System,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 17 September 1997; GlobalSecurity.org, “DUNDEE,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/dundee.htm, accessed on 28 July 2005.
- “Ballistic Simulation Tests Australian Radar System,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 17 September 1997.
Australia’s Jindalee Radar Profiled
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.
» More stories on: Allies, Australia, Detection and Tracking
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