Missile Defense Agency’s new long-range radar steps toward full deployment – Breaking Defense
“The LRDR completed a Space Domain Awareness (SDA) data collect event in January 2024 that proved the SDA capability, and the U.S. Space Force and MDA are in the process of formally declaring LRDR ready for SDA early use in April 2024,” according to MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins.
By: THERESA HITCHENS for BREAKING DEFENSE
WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency’s long-awaited Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) will soon begin its transition to full operational status with the US Space Force — a year-long process expected to wrap up in the early 2025, according to an MDA spokesperson.
“MDA has a well-established weapon system fielding process,” the spokesperson told Breaking Defense, that focuses on “operations and maintenance checkouts.” The LRDR’s final “Operations Acceptance” by the Space Force is planned for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the spokesperson added. The S-band radar system, designed to distinguish between enemy ICMBs and decoys, is at least two years behind schedule — and has been impatiently awaited by US Northern Command leaders who consider it a critical capability for defense of the homeland.
