ALASKA (WHNT) — Boeing Huntsville said it worked with the Missile Defense Agency to conduct a flight test with a radar on Monday.
MDA said in a news release that it worked with the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Northern Command to conduct a flight test in Alaska on Monday. This test, according to MDA, was to determine if the Long Range Discrimination Radar could successfully acquire, track and report missile target data to the Command and Control Battle Management and Communications.
According to MDA, the test was a success.
The agency said this was the radar’s first flight test tracking a live Intercontinental Ballistic Missile representative target.
“The test confirmed that the radar’s sensors can accurately gather data from longer distances, enhancing threat detection and response time for the GMD system and other missile defense systems,” Boeing said.
Named Flight Test Other-26a, MDA said a target was launched over the northern Pacific Ocean and it flew over “2,000 kilometers off the southern coast of Alaska, where it was tracked by LRDR.” It was also tracked by the Upgraded Early Warning Radar, MDA said.
This test was part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System Integration and Test and Readiness contract, awarded to Boeing Huntsville in 2022.
“The GMD system is the only defense program able to protect the entire United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, against long-range ballistic missiles. The system is designed to detect, intercept, and destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles,” Boeing said.
“Initial indications show that LRDR, C2BMC, and GMD Fire Control met mission requirements. Program officials will continue to evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test. FTX-26a will support the operational assessment of LRDR, validation of LRDR modeling and simulations.”
MDA
Why does this test matter? Boeing said the test validated the radar’s sensors and its ability to capture precise data from greater distances, improving threat detection and warning time for the GMD system and other missile defense components.
“This was a key test in the development of the LRDR system and its integration into the C2BMC network,” MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said. “LRDR will provide USNORTHCOM and the United States Space Force with the ability to precisely track ballistic missile threats as well as other space objects, advancing our ability to deter adversaries and bolster our homeland missile defense.”
The system has now been on alert for nearly two decades and is an integral part of America’s layered ballistic missile defense architecture, Boeing Huntsville said.
You can watch a video of the test, provided by MDA here.
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