TEWKSBURY, Mass., 18 March 2011. Raytheon Company has completed the Upgraded Early Warning Radar at Thule Air Base, Greenland, meeting all system requirements and tests. With this upgrade, the UEWR at Thule is ready to conduct the missile defense mission as a critical component of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
"The Raytheon-led team delivered solid program performance and flawless execution during the Thule upgrade," says Dave Gulla, vice president National & Theater Security Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "Our ability to leverage the technical knowledge and real-world experience from the previous upgrades at Beale and Fylingdales enabled us to deliver a system that meets current and future operational needs on time and under budget."
The UEWRs add missile defense capabilities to the Raytheon-developed PAVE PAWS and Ballistic Missile Early Warning Systems radars. Thule Air Base is the third site Raytheon has upgraded to the new UEWR configuration. Additional UEWR locations include Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and Royal Air Force Fylingdales, United Kingdom.
The UEWR provides early detection and precise tracking of incoming ballistic missiles, as well as quick, accurate determination of threat versus non-threat objects. It supports the intercept of threatening ballistic missiles above the atmosphere, while concurrently performing early warning and space surveillance missions.
