The US Defense Department says it plans to deploy a long-range radar in central Alaska to help the national missile defense system with discerning potential enemy missiles.
The Long Range Discrimination Radar would begin operation in 2020 and will be placed in Clear Air Force Station, the Defense Department said in a statement on Friday.
However, required environmental and safety studies must be completed before the department can go ahead with project and decide where exactly it should be launched, the department said.
“The Missile Defense Agency is moving forward with the design and development of the radar and assessing US industry proposals to meet the required technical performance to counter the emerging threat and support future BMDS architecture needs,” the department said.
It says that the LRDR will assist the multi-layered US ballistic missile defense system in addressing potential countermeasures which potential foe could launch to confuse US defensive systems.
In March, Missile Defense Agency Director James Syring and other senior Pentagon officials told Congress that the new radar was highly important to enhance America’s defense capabilities in the face of North Korea and Iran.