The Missile Defense Agency on Monday awarded Lockheed Martin a $784 million contract to build a new long-range radar to protect the US from ballistic missile attacks. The project, called the Long Range Discrimination Radar system, will use a high-powered S-band radar to discriminate threats from a long distance. Operational testing is slated to begin at Clear AFS, Alaska, in 2020, according to a Lockheed release. The US already has some ground-based interceptors to detect threats, but a new system is required due to a growing number of missile threats and countermeasures that can be used to hide missiles, said Carl Bannar, the vice president of Lockheed’s Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors business, in the release.
The Air Force on Jan. 6 released nearly a dozen photos of F-22 and F-35 fighters returning to Puerto Rico after supporting the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—the first official images of forces who participated in Operation Absolute Resolve.
