Thule Radar Work Set for 2005, to Cost $260 Million

The early warning radar system at Thule Air Base in Greenland is expected to undergo $260 million in upgrades over three years, beginning in 2005, Inside Missile Defense reported today (see GSN, Aug. 9).

The improved system would give the planned U.S. missile defense system a better tracking ability by enabling the radar, 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, to follow missiles launched from the Middle East, according to Inside Missile Defense.

Upgrades would be similar to work done on early warning radar systems at Beale Air Force Base in California and to a project under way at Fylingdales Air Base in the United Kingdom (see GSN, Feb. 6, 2003). Those efforts involved enhancing “computer processing capabilities, graphic displays and communication integration” with system command and battle management computers, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

The agency plans to spend $15 million for Thule radar work in fiscal 2005, $142.1 million in fiscal 2006 and $102.7 million in fiscal 2007 (Thomas Duffy, Inside Missile Defense, Aug. 18).

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