Reference News Network, August 17 report. According to the U.S. "Defense News" weekly website on August 15, the U.S. Space Force's deep space radar has recently achieved a test milestone. The radar, which activated seven antennas from a base in Australia, has tracked multiple satellites in orbit.
The system, named "Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability" (DARC), is built by Northrop Grumman and aims to detect and track various activities in geosynchronous orbit, including the movement of space debris and potential hostile activities that could threaten U.S. and allied satellites.
This land-based system is planned to be fully operational by 2027. It is the first of three radars jointly built by the U.S. Space Force with Australia and the United Kingdom. The goal of this tripartite cooperation is to enhance monitoring capabilities for orbital dynamics.
The recent demonstration is part of the DARC integration and testing phase, which just started in recent weeks. Eventually, this radar will use 27 parabolic antenna dishes for deep space tracking. Kevin Jamo, head of Northrop Grumman's Space Surveillance and Environmental Intelligence division, told reporters from "Defense News" that tracking can already be achieved with only a portion of the antennas, indicating that the company's design is reliable and scalable.
Jamo said, "Each parabolic antenna itself has certain performance, but when you can get these antennas to work together as an array, you're essentially building a powerful giant radar."
As the testing progresses, the project will gradually increase the number of antennas used, thereby improving the accuracy and continuity of observations.
While developing the first DARC radar, Northrop Grumman will also start construction of the second radar. The second radar will be deployed in the UK. Last year, the company received a $200 million contract to build the second DARC system.
Currently, the U.S. Space Force is working with the UK government on environmental assessments and other necessary procedures. Construction of the radar site can only begin after these tasks are completed. Jamo said that the completion of these tasks will affect the company's production and delivery schedule for the radar.
He said, "Based on the progress of intergovernmental collaboration, we will definitely try to optimize the execution time of various tasks. We have already done a lot of work, but there are still more tasks to come."
When building the second and eventually the third radar, Northrop Grumman will be able to draw on many achievements from the first radar. Jamo mentioned that there may be some differences in the design of the three radars, and the company will work with the U.S. Space Force to determine what adjustments are needed for the radar to be deployed in the UK.
The U.S. Space Force's fiscal year 2026 base budget application does not include funding for the DARC project. However, the Space Force stated that it plans to allocate $281 million from the $150 billion reconciliation bill passed by Congress for the project. (Translated by Zhu Jie)
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