The Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), also known as the SPY-6, is a next-generation integrated radar providing both exoatmospheric and air defense, and surface warfare capabilities on U.S. surface ships. The SPY-6 will be featured on the Flight III Arleigh Burke Guided Missiles Destroyers. The radars are slated to be 30 times more powerful...
The AN/SPY-1 is a multi-function, phased array, 3D air search radar that provides search, detection, tracking, and discrimination data of air and surface targets. It is the main fire control radar for the Aegis Combat System, which equips both Aegis ships and Aegis Ashore sites located in Poland and Romania. First deployed in 1983, SPY-1...
The AN/TPY-2 (Army-Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance) is a high-resolution, X-band radar built specifically for missile defense. Developed alongside the THAAD ballistic missile defense system, the AN/TPY-2 is capable of tracking targets at long range and cueing other U.S. missile defense systems. The U.S. Army took delivery of its first production AN/TPY-2 in 2004 and currently...
The Cobra Dane Radar Upgrade is an L-band radar located at Shemya Island, Alaska at Eareckson Air Station. It has a single face, 95 feet in diameter, providing 136-degree azimuth coverage. It was originally designed as a missile tracking radar for Soviet missile tests, but was upgraded to perform missile defense missions in 2004. The radar face can...
The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a satellite constellation in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) that detects rocket launches and nuclear detonations with infrared sensors. DSP satellites are operated by the U.S. Space Force. DSP’s first satellite launch took place in 1970. Although the constellation remains operational, its military mission is now primarily satisfied by the Space-Based...
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) is an Army program consisting of an orbit of two aerostats that are tethered to a fixed site. It provides persistent capability to detect cruise missiles, UAVs, and aircraft, and provides targeting information for interceptors. A JLENS orbit also has a secondary capability...
The Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) is a long-range, midcourse tracking radar designed to provide continuous coverage and improved discrimination capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland. The radar is intended to support the layered U.S. BMD defense system to defend against threats emanating from the Pacific and will provide more deployment flexibility for the Sea-Based...
The Sea-Based X-band Radar (SBX) is a unique radar housed on a decommissioned North Sea oil rig. The SBX produces very high resolution images of incoming threat clouds, which helps BMD interceptors discriminate between lethal objects and debris. The SBX has contributed to 12 tests of the GMD system and provided tracking and kill assessment for...
Even the most sophisticated missile defense interceptors cannot complete their mission effectively without the ability to see their target. While sensors and command and control often get short shrift in discussions of missile defense in favor of interceptor improvements, upgrading the sensor architecture offers another effective means to improve the overall function of the BMDS....
The Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) is a space-based system developed and operated by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) that detects and tracks ballistic missiles. This system is an experimental component of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) and STSS serves as a complement to other U.S. space-based platforms and was intended to...
The Space-based Infrared System (SBIRS) is a constellation of integrated satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and high elliptical orbit (HEO) and ground-based data processing and command and control centers. This system is designed to provide early missile warning, cue missile defenses, deliver technical intelligence (TECHINT), and support battlespace awareness. This system is intended to replace...
Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWR) provide detection, tracking, and classification data to the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Currently, three UEWRs are deployed by the United States, located at Beale AFB in California, Fylingdales in the United Kingdom, and Thule AFB in Greenland. The Missile Defense Agency is also working to upgrade the Early Warning...
