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Tour of Sea-based X-Band Radar

By Dennis Oda

Aug. 14, 2019

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Video by Dennis Oda / doda@staradvertiser.com
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy gave a rare tour of the “golf ball” radar ship at Ford Island.
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy opened up the oddly futuristic “golf ball” ship to a rare media tour as the radar mounted on a semi-submersible platform continues to undergo maintenance, repairs and upgrades following a record 582-day deployment in the Pacific.
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A view from inside the radome showing the radar, which is capable of seeing an object the size of a baseball at a distance of over 2,500 miles. The radar is protected by the radome (the big white golf ball-like object as seen from the outside).
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20190814-1289 CTY X BAND RADAR PHOTO BY DENNIS ODA This is the Sea Based X-Band Radar seen floating off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. The Missile Defense Agency conducted a tour of the Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX) that is in Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. PHOTO BY DENNIS ODA. AUG. 14, 2019.
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During its latest mission, the $2 billion radar traveled 6,140 nautical miles and spent most of its time in the vicinity of Midway Atoll largely watching out for North Korean missiles.
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As designed, the ship’s radar tracks the flight characteristics of incoming ballistic missiles and discriminates between hostile missile warheads and any countermeasures.
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The ship was originally manufactured as an ocean-going oil rig and designed for the oil industry. But in 2003 it became available for conversion into a new mobile element of the Missile Defense Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defense System, and Honolulu has been its unofficial home port since 2006.
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The main deck sits higher than an aircraft carrier and measures 250 feet from the ocean to the top of the radar dome.
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To board the massive vessel, one has to climb a 13-story scaffolding staircase with 156 steps.
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Once on the main deck, which is larger than a football field, it can seem like any other Navy ship.
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There are quarters for a crew of 100, work spaces, mess hall and even a barbecue area. A spacious bridge is the nerve center for controlling the vessel that can travel 150 nautical miles a day.
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As of March 2019, SBX-1 traveled nearly 100,000 nautical miles in support of 72 flight and ground tests and operational missions. The latest mission for a rotating crew of 70 or so contract workers from all across the country was the longest.
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The future of the SBX-1 in Hawaii is up in the air. While there are no plans to move the radar ship to the Atlantic as of now, the Missile Defense Agency completed a study for operating it from the East Coast in 2018 in response to the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act.
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