The audio content for this piece is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, which venerates and aids our Airmen, Guardians, and their kin. Discover further details at afa.org
AURORA, Colo.—The Space Force is nearing the deployment of a significant enhancement for its Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance radar to active personnel, as stated by the leader of Combat Forces Command.
Addressing attendees on Feb. 25 at AFA’s Warfare Symposium, Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon mentioned that the modernized version of the telescope, designated the Ground-Based Optical Sensor, or GBOSS, offers twice the prior field of view and can scan the firmament more rapidly to track moving objects. It also possesses three times greater light sensitivity.
“This is crucial because you must observe space to comprehend ongoing activities,” he asserted. “It’s also important because our adversaries prefer not to be observed.”
The Space Force operates nine older GEODSS telescopes situated at three sites across the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific region. The initial GBOSS configuration will be installed in Maui, Hawaii, but upon its acceptance, this upgrade will be distributed to the remaining GEODSS locations. L3Harris is spearheading the modernization effort.
GBOSS represents one of more than 50 novel or improved systems that have transitioned into operation over the past year, and Gagnon anticipates the upcoming year will be equally demanding. Half of these systems, according to Gagnon, were capabilities focused on space domain awareness, crafted to offer the military enhanced insight into orbital events.
Space domain awareness is highly sought after by space operators, and such capacities have long topped U.S. Space Command’s list of priorities. The necessity will continue to escalate as the quantity of commercial proliferated satellite constellations expands, and as China, Russia, and other nations display an apparent readiness to execute aggressive maneuvers in orbit.
The Space Force employs a combination of ground and space-based sensors to fulfill this mission. On the ground, USSF has endeavored both to upgrade existing radars and telescopes and to introduce new ones. Gagnon highlighted one such new system, the Long Range Discrimination Radar, LRDR, which entered operational service in December.
The radar is positioned at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, and delivers both domain awareness and missile warning and tracking functionalities. The system, conceived by the Missile Defense Agency, incurred a cost of $6 billion and required six years to construct, but Gagnon noted it provides a “massive leap” in the capacity to differentiate between active ballistic missiles and decoys.
“This is significant if you aim for an economy of force in your interceptors,” he commented. “You need to ascertain what to strike.”
The system supplies precise tracking, discrimination, and “hit” data to the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control System.
“Its adaptable framework permits future enhancements to address evolving threats without requiring substantial system alterations,” the Space Force declared in a Dec. 4 press release announcing its operational acceptance. “Furthermore, its continuous threat monitoring guarantees operational readiness, even during maintenance periods, thereby minimizing potential downtime.”
Gagnon underscored that the technological breakthroughs demonstrated through LRDR will serve as a cornerstone for subsequent radar upgrades.
The audio content for this piece is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, which venerates and aids our Airmen, Guardians, and their kin. Discover further details at afa.org