(U) Upgraded Early Warning Radars

(The effects of any budget/program decisions made since the information was collected during 1997-98 are NOT reflected in the National Security Space Road Map (NSSRM).)

Overview: (U)
(U) The Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWRs) incorporate the software upgrades and modest hardware changes required by the existing Early Warning Radars to support the National Missile Defense (NMD) mission. The UEWRs will detect, track and count the individual objects in a ballistic missile attack early in their trajectory.

Description: (U)
(U) Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWRs) incorporate the software upgrades and modest hardware changes required by the existing Early Warning Radars to support the NMD mission. The UEWRs will detect, track and count the individual objects in a ballistic missile attack early in their trajectory. The UEWR data can be used for interceptor commit and GBR cueing in the event of an early deployment, depending on the anticipated threat (East Coast or West Coast) at the time of a defense deployment decision, the appropriate BMEWS and/or PAVE PAWS radars will be upgraded for inclusion in the NMD architecture. If needed, other existing forward based radars (such as COBRA DANE or HAVE STARE) could also be used to support NMD.

User Impact: (U)
(U) To be supplied.

Programmatics: (U)
(U) Programmed.
	(U) IOC: 10/2003 (1QFY2004).
		(U)  This IOC is based on the current NMD program which specifies that three years will be spent developing and testing the NMD elements.  At the end of these three years, a decision will be made based on the the existing or projected threat to deploy an ABM Treaty-compliant NMD system.  Deployment is then expected to take an additional three years.  This is known as the "three+three" option.

Related Initiatives: (U)
(U) ALERT

Related Requirements: (U)
(U) None.

Related Categories: (U)
(U) Surveillance

Road Map Placements: (U)
(U) SPACE CONTROL: NMD/ COUNTERSPACE.

Lead Office: (U)
(U) Air Force.

Date of Information: (U)
21 November 1997

(The effects of any budget/program decisions made since the information was collected during 1997-98 are NOT reflected in the National Security Space Road Map (NSSRM).)