Lockheed Martin’s Space Fence System has passed the Air Force’s critical design review, marking the end of the design phase and the beginning of radar production and facility construction, the company announced Sept. 28. The large-scale digital radar, turn-key facility, and other parts of the system passed the review after a demonstration of a small-scale system that detected and tracked objects orbiting in space. The Space Fence will use S-band ground-based radar to detect and track objects and debris in space to prevent collisions, and will replace the existing Air Force Space Surveillance System. Lockheed in M?arch began construction on a Space Fence site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Initial operational capability is now scheduled for late 2018.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
