computer science

Solid State Phased Array Radar System

Solid State Phased Array Radar System is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Solid State Phased Array Radar System rather than just read about it. In short: The Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS), colloquially Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar network (BMEWS radar network), is a United States Space Force radar, computer, and communications system for missile warning and space surveillance. There are SSPARS systems at five sites: Beale Air Force Base, CA, Cape Cod Space Force Station, MA, Clear Space Force Station, AK, RAF Fylingdales, UK, and Pitu…

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS), colloquially Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar network (BMEWS radar network), is a United States Space Force radar, computer, and communications system for missile warning and space surveillance. There are SSPARS systems at five sites: Beale Air Force Base, CA, Cape Cod Space Force Station, MA, Clear Space Force Station, AK, RAF Fylingdales, UK, and Pituffik Space Base, Greenland. The system completed replacement of the RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System when the last SSPAR became operational at then-Clear Air Force Station in 2001.

Classification of radar systems

Under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), all U.S. military radar and tracking systems are assigned a unique identifying alphanumeric designation. The letters “AN” (for Army-Navy) are placed ahead of a three-letter code.

The first letter of the three-letter code denotes the type of platform hosting the electronic device, where A=Aircraft, F=Fixed (land-based), S=Ship-mounted, and T=Ground transportable. The second letter indicates the type of equipment, where P=Radar (pulsed), Q=Sonar, and R=Radio. The third letter indicates the function or purpose of the device, where G=Fire control, R=Receiving, S=Search, and T=Transmitting. The AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) is a series of phased array radar systems used for long-range early warning and space surveillance, operating as part of the United States Missile Defense and Space Surveillance Network. Thus, the AN/FPS-132 represents the 132nd design of an Army-Navy “Fixed, Radar, Search” electronic device.

History The Solid State Phased Array Radar System is a phased array radar with 2500 "solid state transmitter" modules. It began replacing PAVE PAWS when the first AN/FPS-115 face was taken off-line for the radar upgrade. New AN/FPS-123 Early Warning Radars became operational at (Beale) and (Cape Cod) in each base's existing PAVE PAWS "Scanner Building". In 2001 SSPARS equipment included:

Raytheon AN/FPS-123 PAVE PAWS Radar at Beale (FPS-115 IOC 4 April 1980) and Cape Cod (FPS-115 IOC 15 August 1980) Raytheon AN/FPS-120 Solid State Phased Array Radar at Thule ("2QFY87") with greater radar capabilities than the FPS-115 PAVE PAWS radars Raytheon AN/FPS-126 Solid State Phased Array Radar at Fylingdales with three faces for 360-degree coverage (constructed August 1989 – October 1992) Raytheon AN/FPS-120 Solid State Phased Array Radar using an older antenna from the 1987 PAVE PAWS EWR in Texas (groundbreaking 16 April 1998, for the "Clear Radar Upgrade") After the Fylingdales BMEWS radars had been replaced by Raytheon/Cossor AeroSpace and Control Data Corporation (embedded CDC-Cyber computer) at a cost of US $100 million, in February 1995 the "missile warning center at Cheyenne Mountain AS [was] undergoing a $450 million upgrade program". The entire SSPARS became operational on 31 January 2001 when the "SSPARS Site" at Clear AFS (separate from the BMEWS site) had Initial Operational Capability. The Clear AN/FPS-120 was subsequently "upgraded to the AN/FPS-123 model" SSPA Radar, and the SSPARS was modified in the Early Warning Radar Service Life Extension Program The US approved sale of an AN/FPS-115 to Taiwan in 2000 and it was introduced in 2006. The Alaska BMEWS station became a SSPARS radar station when its Raytheon AN/FPS-126 radar and 2001 Raytheon AN/FPS-120 became operational. In 2007, 100 owners/trustees of amateur radio repeaters near AN/FPS-123 radars were notified to lower their power output to mitigate interference, and AN/FPS-123s were part of the Air Force Space Surveillance System by 2009. BAE Systems began a 2007 contract for SSPARS maintenance. The SSPARS radar electronics was subsequently upgraded, e.g., the Beale radar and the Fylingdales FPS-126 each became an AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) by Raytheon. The Beale AN/FPS-123 was upgraded to a Raytheon AN/FPS-132 (UEWR) with capabilities to operate in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) ABM system—the Beale UEWR included "Avionics", "T/R modules", "FEX/TTG", "BSG", "Signal Processor", and other changes. After additional UEWR installations for GMD at Thule Site J and the UK (contracted 2003), a 2012 ESD/XRX Request for Information for replacement, and remote operation, of the remaining "PAVE PAWS/BMEWS/PARCS systems" at Cape Cod, Alaska, and North Dakota was issued. The Alaska AN/FPS-132 was contracted in fall 2012 and the Cape Cod installation in 2013. The AN/FPS-132 Block-5 was ordered by the Qatar Emiri Air Force, and was under construction as part of the country's missile defense infrastructure. On 28 February 2026, during the Iran war, Iranian sources reported that the system was targeted in retaliatory strikes on U.S.-associated military installations in Qatar. Damage to the system was later confirmed by satellite imagery.

Operators United States United Kingdom Qatar

System overview

Solid-state phased-array radar Each radar installation has multiple faces, where each face provides a 120-degree coverage. Operating frequency: Ultra high frequency (UHF) Range: 3,000 miles

Locations Active:

Beale Air Force Base, California RAF Fylingdales, United Kingdom Thule Site J (Pituffik Space Base), Greenland Umm Dahal, Qatar (damaged) Planned:

Clear Space Force Station, Alaska Cape Cod Space Force Station, Massachusetts

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Solid State Phased Array Radar System

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Solid State Phased Array Radar System claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Solid State Phased Array Radar System before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Solid State Phased Array Radar System ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Solid State Phased Array Radar System

In research: Solid State Phased Array Radar System appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Solid State Phased Array Radar System in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Solid State Phased Array Radar System is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1987 in military history, 2001 in military history, Computer systems of the United States Air Force, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Solid State Phased Array Radar System outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Solid State Phased Array Radar System in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Solid State Phased Array Radar System means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Solid State Phased Array Radar System out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Solid State Phased Array Radar System in simple terms?

Why does Solid State Phased Array Radar System matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Solid State Phased Array Radar System?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Solid State Phased Array Radar System.