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2021-10-01

Raytheon Modifies two U.S. Space Force UEWRs

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, has completed significant improvements to the U.S. Space Force’s AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWR) in Clear, Alaska, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

UEWRs go a long way in providing early detection and precise tracking of space objects, to include incoming ballistic missiles, as well as quick classification of threat versus non-threat objects.

The now fully operational second generation UEWRs include the installation and integration of: New data, signal, display and control processors; the latest information assurance and cyber security protocols; improvements to the mission application and signal processing software; and new network and external communication systems.

Col. Josh Williams, Director of the Strategic Warning and Surveillance Systems Directorate, explained: “These modifications enable our Upgraded Early Warning Radars to provide better data to our multiple users in the missile defence, missile warning, and space domain awareness arenas. Our partnership with Raytheon allowed us to successfully overcome many scheduling challenges associated with operational priorities and the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure these necessary upgrades were fielded.”

UEWR provides information to other sensors in the missile defence network through the battle manager in support of an intercept. In addition, the radars report satellite orbital information to Space Operations Command in support of the Space Surveillance Network.

“Completing these significant upgrades and integration in less than a year – while overcoming a host of pandemic-related challenges – is a true testament to the close partnership between our team, the Space Force and the Air Force,” pointed out Paul Ferraro, vice president of Air Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “By helping identify sophisticated threats clearly, at ranges in excess of 5,000 kilometres, these radars serve as a key contributor to the United States’ homeland and regional defence capabilities.” Through enhanced object classification and tracking capabilities, the UEWR programme supports a new missile defence mission that’s been added to the existing missile warning and space surveillance missions of the legacy radars at Clear and Cape Cod Space Force Stations.

Watchful Eye

When it comes to missile defence, early warning is the key.

The Early Warning Radar has been continually modernised.

“If we don’t have an EWR in the case of an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile, we would lose tens of minutes of warning time, and the consequence of that, in terms of missile defence, means a much smaller window of opportunity to protect a populated area,” said Monica Giffin, programme manager of Solid State Module Replacement, or SSMR, for Raytheon. “With ongoing modernisation, it’s like breathing new life into systems we hold close to our hearts.”

Modernisation is conducted to keep the radars effective in the future.

It may be recalled that in September 2019, the U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon a nearly US$500 million SSMR contract to provide new transmit/receive modules for all operational AN/FPS-132 EWRs.

EWR is a key sensor for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defense System. By performing surveillance into space, it can help intercept ballistic missiles above the atmosphere, away from any intended targets in the U.S. or allied nations. “Our radar is designed so the surveillance fence is up all the time, resulting in a high probability of detecting missiles, satellites and aircraft,” said David Woodward, Raytheon’s director of International EWR Programmes.

The United States and partner nations have invested more than US$9 billion in Raytheon’s EWR technology.

The radar benefits from the significant Raytheon investment in gallium nitride, or GaN, circuit technology, which offers enhanced performance and lower costs. GaN gives the radar more power and wastes less in excess heat.

Early Warning

Space is all about acquiring targets and then tracking them, according to Wallis Laughrey, vice president of Space and C2 Systems at Raytheon Intelligence & Space.

Future space architecture will likely be a hybrid of sensors, with the low Earth orbit, or LEO, constellation providing cueing. Once a threat is launched, it can be captured immediately and handed off to other space sensors to maintain the track and guide effectors.

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defence company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide.

With four industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense – the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics.

The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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