LRDR environmental assessment released

By John Liang / May 3, 2016 at 12:20 PM

The Missile Defense Agency and Air Force Space Command on May 2 released an environmental assessment regarding the proposed basing of the Long-Range Discrimination Radar at Clear Air Force Station, AK.

MDA and AFSPC found "no significant impacts from construction or operation" of the LRDR, according to the draft document:

The purpose of the action is to provide a properly situated US-based radar site with sufficient capability for midcourse BMDS discrimination and hit/kill assessment in support of enhanced homeland defense. The need is to deploy a LRDR against long-range ballistic missile threats from North Korea as directed in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2014. When complete, this radar would function as part of the BMDS and be functionally capable through the MDA Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system. This EA considers and evaluates the construction and operation of the LRDR.

The LRDR would replace a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) radar that was deactivated in 2001.

If a decision were made to proceed with building the LRDR, "the proposed construction activities would begin in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 and continue through FY2021, with the site being operational by mid FY 2020," according to the document.

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