The Defense Department said the S-Band Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) conducted its first flight test tracking of a live missile target on Monday, relaying data to the Control Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC).
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on Tuesday announced that Fight Test Other-26a (FTX-26a) used an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) representative target developed by MDA air launched over the northern Pacific Ocean after air-dropped by a C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
The target flew over 1,200 miles off the southern coast of Alaska, where the Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built LRDR tracked it alongside the Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR), both at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska.
The company noted this test target included countermeasures, but the target was successfully tracked by LRDR, which forwarded the data to C2BMC.
This sensor data was then passed to the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system “to support a simulated engagement,” MDA said in a statement.
The test included cooperation among MDA, the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Northern Command.
Boeing [BA] noted it also participated in the test as the holder of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System Integration, Test and Readiness (SITR) contract.
“Deterrence begins with detection, and the successful FTX-26a demonstration underscored LRDR’s ability to detect and track threats at extended ranges, while accurately distinguishing between targets and non-targets,” Rick Cordaro, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Radar and Sensor Systems, said in a statement.
Cordero also underscored LRDR has an open architecture that will allow it to easily integrate with other emerging technologies and software to better give warfighters actionable information for decision-making.
Lockheed Martin added that the test was the first time LRDR demonstrated detection, tracking and discriminating threats in a complex environment and that C2BMC provided LRDR flight test data to support a simulated GMD engagement.
FTX-26a is being used to support the operational assessment of LRDR, validation of LRDR modeling and simulations.
The agency added that the initial indications show the LRDR, C2BMC and GMD Fire Control systems all met mission requirements, while officials will keep evaluating system performance based on telemetry and other data from the test.
“This was a key test in the development of the LRDR system and its integration into the C2BMC network. 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,” MDA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said in a statement.
This follows statements by Maj. Gen. Jason Cothern, MDA’s deputy director and program executive officer for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, that the agency planned operational testing of the LRDR this summer and then quickly moved it to Space Force control for fielding (Defense Daily, April 9).
MDA first received LRDR at Clear Space Force Station over a year ago (Defense Daily April 22, 2024).