. 24/7 Space News .
TECH SPACE
Long-Range Discrimination Radar Reshapes Adversaries' Calculus for Attacks Against US Homeland
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 20, 2021

The Long Range Discrimination Radar at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, is a multi-mission, multi-face radar designed to provide search, track and discrimination capability in support of U.S. homeland defense, Oct. 26, 2021.

The Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Northern Command and the Space Force marked the completion of construction on the long-range discrimination radar site at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, during a ceremony on Monday.

The multi-mission LRDR is designed, for now, to better track incoming ballistic missiles. It combines the capabilities of lower frequency radars - which can track multiple objects in space at long range, but are not able to help warfighters determine which objects are a threat - with the capabilities of higher-frequency radars, which have a more limited field of view but are better able to "discriminate" among multiple objects and figure out what of those is dangerous.

As ballistic missiles are launched and shed portions of themselves along their trajectory - including decoy and countermeasure material - the LRDR will help to determine which of those objects must be targeted by the missile defense system.

When fully operational, the multi-face LRDR - equipped with a 220 degree wide field of view and arrays measuring 60 feet high by 60 feet wide - will provide the ability to search, track and discriminate multiple, small objects in space, including all classes of ballistic missiles. Future iterations of the radar's software will allow it to also track hypersonic missiles.

The information the LRDR provides will increase the effectiveness of the missile defense system and help the U.S. Northern Command better defend the United States.

The capabilities the LRDR provides will also serve as a new kind of deterrent against potential missile attacks by adversaries, said Army Lt. Gen. A.C. Roper, the deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command.

"For years, the Department of Defense has subscribed to a mindset of deterrence through punishment - taking advantage of our global response to execute retaliatory strikes," Roper said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has challenged the military to instead approach deterrence from a different perspective: deterrence through denial, Roper said.

"It's a defense designed to give our potential adversaries pause," he said. "It is the type of deterrence that shifts [their] cost-benefit calculus, providing doubt that an attack will be successful. And the LRDR helps to shift that calculus."

The general told those responsible for designing and building the new LRDR system that they have given potential adversaries something to think about if they're contemplating an attack on the U.S. homeland.

"This long-range discrimination radar is designed to defend the homeland by providing [the] unparalleled ability to search, track and discriminate multiple objects simultaneously," Roper said. "This radar provides a much-needed improvement to Northcom's homeland ballistic missile defense mission, ultimately resulting in more effective and efficient employment of the ground-based interceptors."

Full operational capability for the LRDR is expected in 2023, Navy Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency said. Right now, the newly built LRDR will be evaluated and integrated into existing systems.

"This initial delivery is an important step to declare that we're done with a major construction. We are now fully into the test mode of this radar," Hill said. "That testing is so critical because it pushes you right into the integration, command and control into ground-based midcourse defense. That integration work will be complete and, then, in 2023, we'll be able to do operational acceptance for Northern Command."

Right now, the primary requirement met by the LRDR is against a ballistic missile threat, but in future iterations of the LRDR, tracking of hypersonic weapons can also be included without significant changes to the system, Hill said.

"That is what the radar filters are designed to go after," Hill said. "To bring in what I call a filter - which means you can then space your tracking and your timing to go to hypersonic - that's not a big leap ... that is a software upgrade, but it is not the driving requirement for LRDR today."


Related Links
U.S. Space Force
Missile Defense Agency
Space Technology News - Applications and Research


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


TECH SPACE
Testing mini-radar to peer inside asteroid
Paris (ESA) Nov 18, 2021
A specially upgraded radio-frequency chamber in ESA's technical heart is testing what is set to become the smallest radar system to be flown in space, hosted aboard a breadbox-sized spacecraft. Scheduled to fly to the Didymos binary asteroid system with ESA's Hera mission for planetary defence in 2024, the compact radar aboard the Juventas CubeSat will perform the first ever radar sounding inside an asteroid. Juventas will peer up to 100 m deep within the 160-m-diameter Dimorphos moonlet of the 78 ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

TECH SPACE
Major tech firms join Consumer Electronics Show exodus

Russia ready to 'fight' for space tourism supremacy

NASA selects second private astronaut mission to Space Station

Space Habitat Market size to grow by USD 94.92 Bn

TECH SPACE
FAA approves Launch Site Operator License for Spaceport Camden

Science fiction revisited: Ramjet propulsion

SpaceX launches Turksat-5b

Huayi-1 suborbital rocket makes debut flight

TECH SPACE
Out of the Shadows of the Maria Gordon notch: Sols 3328-3329

ExoMars discovers hidden water in Mars' Grand Canyon

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Reaches a Total of 30 Minutes Aloft

NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Makes Surprising Discoveries

TECH SPACE
New technologies make Chinese astronauts' in-orbit lives easier

On they march as China records 401st flight of Long March rocket family

China's Long March carrier rocket embarks on 400th mission

First crew of space station provide a full update on China's progress

TECH SPACE
Kepler Communications announces testing of Aether Network with Spire Global

New space economy ready to lift off thanks to Finnish innovation

Kleos' Patrol Mission Satellites Ready and Shipped to Launch Site

Europe opens up a new space to commercial services

TECH SPACE
Long-Range Discrimination Radar Reshapes Adversaries' Calculus for Attacks Against US Homeland

Selective separation could help alleviate critical metals shortage

Step forward in quest to develop living construction materials and beyond

Oracle to buy medical records firm Cerner for $28.3 bn

TECH SPACE
Could acid-neutralizing life-forms make habitable pockets in Venus' clouds?

Founding members of world's first independent space science mission confirmed

Life arose on hydrogen energy

Stellar "ashfall" could help distant planets grow

TECH SPACE
Deep Mantle Krypton Reveals Earth's Outer Solar System Ancestry

Planet decision that booted out Pluto is rooted in folklore, astrology

Are Water Plumes Spraying from Europa

Science results offer first 3D view of Jupiter's atmosphere









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.