초수평선 레이다 OTH 레이더를 다시 주목하고 있는 미공군

[위종민]

알래스카에 OTH 레이더를 설치하려는 계획이 냉전 종식 이후 포기됐다가 최근 신냉전 구도 하에서 러시아와 중국의 순항미사일 위협이 부각되면서 다시 주목받고 있다고 합니다. 

총 4곳에 OTH 레이더를 설치하는 계획의 초기 단계에 있고, 8월 21일 미육군 공병단이 미국 북서부 두 곳에 OHT 레이더를 설치하기 위한 예비 안내를 발표했네요. RTX가 차세대 OTH 레이더를 개발중이나, OTH 레이더는 멀리 볼 수는 있어도 교전에 필요한 정도의 트랙을 생성하진 못하기 때문에 다른 레이더 시스템과 신속하게 정보를 공유할 수 있어야 하고 NORAD나 북부사령부와도 연계돼야 한다고 강조하고 있습니다. 

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/norad-over-the-horizon-radar

An RTX graphic illustrates a next-generation over-the-horizon radar sending radio signals towards the ionosphere. (Courtesy RTX)

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How the Ionosphere Can Help NORAD Detect Cruise Missiles Faster

Sept. 5, 2023 | By David Roza

The Air Force is bringing back an old radar technology to detect cruise missiles, but experts warn it must be deployed sooner alongside a comprehensive network of missile detecting and defeating systems to be effective.

Over-the-horizon radar (OTHR) was first developed during the Cold War to detect Soviet bomber attacks from thousands of miles away, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Most radars are limited by the curvature of the Earth, allowing potential threats to fly ‘under the radar’ without being detected. But OTHR bounces high-frequency radio signals off the ionosphere, which starts about 50 miles above the Earth’s surface. The descending signals rebound off objects below, then back off the ionosphere before returning to the receiver. OTHR provides early warning of incoming threats more than 1,000 miles away, much farther than conventional radar systems. 

An RTX graphic illustrates a next-generation over-the-horizon radar signal bouncing off the ionosphere, giving it awareness beyond the horizon. Courtesy of RTX

A plan to build OTHR in Alaska was abandoned after the Cold War ended, but the emerging threat of cruise missiles from possible adversaries such as China and Russia has brought the system back into focus. 

Unlike ballistic missiles, which follow predictable flight paths, cruise missiles can maneuver unpredictably at low altitudes, be launched from a range of platforms, and may reach hypersonic speeds as technology develops.

The Air Force plans to build four OTHRs for North American Aerospace Defense Command/U.S. Northern Command (NORAD/NORTHCOM), but the process is in the early stages; on Aug. 21, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a sources sought notice for building “two remote sites in the North-West United States.”

When they do go up, the new systems could be more advanced than their Cold War predecessors. RTX, the company recently known as Raytheon Technologies, is developing a “next-generation” OTHR that includes advanced transmitters, digital receivers, and a more compact receiver array. A press release about the system notes “adaptive signal processing and advanced digital beamforming,” which should mitigate signal clutter, reduce processing requirements, and improve target detection. 

“The next generation that we need for this particular mission set increases the sensitivity of the radar significantly,” Paul Ferraro, president of air power at Raytheon, the defense business unit for RTX, told reporters at an Aug. 31 event.

RTX is no stranger to OTHR systems, having developed three in the 1990s that the Navy uses as surveillance assets for drug trafficking interdiction, Ferraro said. Even so, OTHR is not effective without a larger system to act on the information it provides. Though OTHR can see a great distance, it does not have the same fidelity as other radars that can produce “engagement quality tracks,” Ferraro said. 

That means once OTHR detects a threat, it must be able to share information quickly across vast distances so other radars can hone in on the object, then send that information to planners at NORAD/NORTHCOM.

“It is critically important that all of this data is presented to an operator in total, because that gives them the most comprehensive picture of the threat space that they’re trying to defend against,” said Ferraro, echoing what Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the head of NORAD/NORTHCOM, told lawmakers in May.

“There has to be domain awareness between the over-the-horizon radars that link the data from there to an end-game effector,” the general said. “We need to look more broadly at the rest of the infrastructures, the radar as well, and ensure the data from those systems is incorporated in an integrated air and missile defense system that can lead to effectors.”

The northern lights glow behind a Patriot M903 launcher station assigned to 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, during Exercise Arctic Edge 2022 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Mar. 5, 2022. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph P. LeVeille.

Experts and officials warn that there are many holes in today’s air and missile defense system. The North Warning System, a network of 47 radar stations monitoring the air space over the Canadian Arctic and Alaska, is based on outdated technology first developed in the 1970s, wrote Dr. Caitlin Lee, senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute, in a June paper. The technology may become less effective as China and Russia develop stealthier cruise missiles that could be launched from an array of platforms. VanHerck himself described the system as “a solid fence shrinking to a picket fence.”

Other gaps in the fence are formed by a scarcity of Arctic air- and space-based surveillance assets; a lack of Arctic infrastructure like runways and fuel storage; difficulty identifying airborne objects; and inefficient information-sharing systems, Lee wrote. Fixing it will require a modernized, holistic “missile defeat” system that involves robust detection and tracking mechanisms and a range of interception tools including passive, kinetic, and non-kinetic capabilities, such as cyber warfare, directed energy, and electronic attacks, Lee said.

There are signs of progress. In March, President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau laid out a NORAD modernization plan pledging two next-generation OTHR systems “covering the Arctic and Polar approaches, the first by 2028.” The plan also commits to building northern forward operating locations for fifth-generation aircraft and mobility/refueling aircraft. It also seeks to improve “the cybersecurity and resiliency of our critical infrastructure.” 

Canada plans to build two OTHR systems, while the Air Force is responsible for funding another four, but the whole set will not be operational until 2031. That is not fast enough, wrote Lee, who called for investing $55 million on NORAD’s unfunded priority list into accelerating OTHR to 2027. She also urged investing about $211 million to amplify the North Warning System with nine advanced mobile Three Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radars.

“Arctic domain awareness and information dominance should be a top DOD priority now, not in a decade or more, to shore up cruise missile defense of the homeland,” she wrote.

https://sam.gov/opp/23823d7fd5f74bb1873d2e1002839e13/view

SAM.gov

Sources Sought for Construction of the Homeland Defense Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR).

ACTIVE

Contract Opportunity

Notice ID

W912dq23ss70022

Related Notice

Department/Ind. Agency

DEPT OF DEFENSE

Sub-tier

DEPT OF THE ARMY

Major Command

USACE

Sub Command

NWD

Office

W071 ENDIST KANSAS CITY

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General Information

• Contract Opportunity Type: Sources Sought (Original)
• All Dates/Times are: (UTC-05:00) CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, CHICAGO, USA
• Original Published Date: Aug 21, 2023 02:30 pm CDT
• Original Response Date: Oct 04, 2023 10:00 am CDT
• Inactive Policy: 15 days after response date
• Original Inactive Date: Oct 19, 2023
• Initiative:
  • None

Classification

• Original Set Aside:
• Product Service Code:
• NAICS Code:
  • 236220 - Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
• Place of Performance:

Description

W912DQ-23-SS-70022

Sources Sought for Construction of the Homeland Defense Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR).

The following is a Sources Sought Notice for a full and open unrestricted solicitation.  This Sources Sought announcement is for market research information only and is to be used for preliminary planning purposes.  No proposals are being requested and none will be accepted in response to this notice.  THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS NOTICE.  The purpose of this notice is to gain knowledge of potential and interested qualified business concerns capable of performing Commercial and Institutional Building Construction in the remote areas of the North-West United States. This effort is classified through the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) under 236220 Commercial and Institutional building Construction. 

It is anticipated that a solicitation announcement will be published on SAM.gov in mid-2024.  The estimated magnitude of this project is over $500,000,000; with an estimated construction duration of 3 years.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District is seeking a design-build construction contractor to execute the construction of the Homeland Defense Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR).  The project is tentatively programmed for construction in mid FY25.  

The OTHR system will be located on two remote sites in the North-West United States and will provide long range early detection and tracking capability for low flying targets approaching the borders of North America. The two sites are located in areas with little or no utility infrastructure and outside commuting range of any metropolitan areas.  Construction on the sites will include earthwork to accommodate large antenna arrays, dining and lodging facilities to support personnel housed on-site, mission operations facilities, and power generation facilities.  The sites will require large amounts of earthwork and civil infrastructure development.

The Kansas City District is soliciting feedback from industry as part of our market research efforts associated with this acquisition.  The Corps of Engineers are considering various acquisition strategies to deliver this project and request input from industry.  The following information is requested in this Sources Sought (SS) announcement with a limit of ten (10) pages for your response:

1.  Organization name, address, email address, website address, telephone number, and small business status and type of ownership for the organization; include DUNS number and CAGE code.

2.  Firm’s interest in providing a proposal as the prime contractor on the pending solicitation once issued.

3.  Experience:  Evidence of capabilities to perform work comparable to that required for this project (e.g. management of construction in a remote environment).  Provide three recent relevant/comparable projects (not more than ten years old) and describe how they are similar to this project.  Include the project name; dollar value of the project; description of the key/salient features of the project; identify the contracting office & the customer/user (include POC information).

4.  Firm’s Bonding Capability (construction bonding level per contract and aggregate bonding level, both expressed in dollars).  Include any concerns associated with providing performance and payment bond for the projected contract value identified.

5. A Webinar is being scheduled for mid-November, please indicate if your firm would like to attend providing contact information for a point of contact for information regarding the webinar.

Please send your Sources Sought responses via email to all of the following  jay.b.denker@usace.army.mil and, Stephanie.R.Kretzer@usace.army.mil.  Submission should be received by 10:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time, October 4, 2023.

This Sources Sought is for market research purposes only and IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach.  The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice.

Attachments/Links

No attachments or links have been added to this opportunity.

Contact Information

Contracting Office Address

• CONTRACTING DIV CORPS OF ENGINEERS 601 E 12TH ST
• KANSAS CITY , MO 64106-2896
• USA

Primary Point of Contact

• Jay B. Denker
•    Jay.B.Denker@usace.army.mil
•    Phone Number8163893934

Secondary Point of Contact

• Stephanie R. Kretzer
•    stephanie.r.kretzer@usace.army.mil
•    Phone Number8163892355

History

• Aug 21, 2023 02:30 pm CDTSources Sought (Original)

[백선호]

오스트렐리아의 진달리는 도플러 변화를 갖고 표적을 탐지/추적하기 때문에 가로질러 가는 표적은 놓친다고 하네요.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jindalee_Operational_Radar_Network

As JORN uses the Doppler principle to detect objects, it cannot detect objects moving at a tangent to the system, or objects moving at a similar speed to their surroundings.

[위종민]

레이더가 보는 각도를 다양하게 배치해야겠네요. 북쪽만 바라보게 깔리면 동-서로 이동하면서 미사일 쏘고 이탈하는 전술도 쓸 수 있겠습니다.