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Ballistic Missile Early Warning System

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The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was the first operational ballistic missile detection radar. Built in 1959, BMEWS could provide long-range warning of a missile attack over the polar region of the northern hemisphere. There were three installations: Thule Air Force Base, Greenland; Clear Air Station, Alaska; and Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Base, Fylingdales, United Kingdom. They could only spot missles when they apeard over the horizon, which led the Soviet Union to develop FOBS. Defense Support Program (DSP) early warning satellites were developed in part to counter this threat.

The radars operate in the 420-450 MHz (UHF) frequency range. Information received from the BMEWS radar systems is forwarded to Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, Colorado. A prototype of BMEWS began providing surveillance and tracking of ballistic missiles by 1958, and went operational on February 4, 1959, to gather data on missiles fired at the Atlantic Missile Range, as well as satellites and meteors. The full BMEWS radar network became operational in the early 1960s. The Thule and UK sites were upgraded with phased array radars in the 1990s. The Clear, Alaska site was upgraded with PAVE PAWS radars starting in the late 1990s.

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