Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
February 11, 2012
IWG Report 2009
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR)
| Country: | USA |
|---|
Details
Early Warning Radars (EWRs) are phased-array surveillance radars that the U.S. military uses to detect incoming ballistic missiles. The Missile Defense Agency plans to enhance these EWRs to Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWRs) in order to integrate them with the future U.S. national missile defense system.
The upgraded EWRs have undergone hardware and software enhancements. The hardware modifications will include replacement of existing computers, graphic displays, communications equipment, and the radar receiver. In addition, the software will be rewritten to incorporate missile defense functions, thus allowing for the acquisition and tracking of small objects near the horizon. As envisioned, the UEWRs will be able to search for different types of incoming missiles, distinguish hostile warheads from non-hostile objects, and transfer this data to other missile defense elements via improved communications software.
The UEWRs will be based at locations around North America, including Clear AFS in Alaska, Beale AFB in California, and Cape Cod AFS in Massachusetts, as well as sites known as the Northeast Tier and Northwest Tier. During and after the upgrades, all current EWR operations will continue. The upgraded radar sites will be able to conduct missile defense missions and training exercises which were formerly not part of their mission. MDA has indicated that there will be no changes in the number of military personnel required to operate the UEWRs.(1)
Once operational, the UEWRs will be responsible for locating enemy missiles as they clear the horizon line. After the incoming threats have been detected, the UEWRs will hand them over to new X-Band Radars (XBRs) for “target refinement”—tracking, imaging, and discrimination. Information from the UEWRs and XBRs will be constantly fed to the Battle Management/Command, Control and Communications (BMC3) system, which will launch ground-based interceptor missiles or other defensive devices against the incoming threats.(2)
Footnotes
- GlobalSecurity.org, “Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR),” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/uewr.htm, accessed on 28 July 2005
- “Raising The Ballistic Shield,” Jane’s International Defence Review, 5 September 2000.
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