FPS-115

FPS-115 Long-Range Missile Detection Radar Set - A Long-Range Missile Detection Radar set built by Raytheon in the late 1970s. Designed to detect sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). Deployed in a system called Pave Paws. The initial concept had two FPS-115 systems deployed in the continental United States in 1980, one on the east coast at Cape Cod AFS and one on the west coast at Beale AFB. The concept expanded in the mid-1980s with two more sites, one at Dobbins AFB Georgia and one at Eldorado AFS, Texas. Coincident with the end of the Cold War both of the later sites were closed in 1995. The equipment at Eldorado AFS, was relocated to Clear AFS, Alaska to replace the FPS-50. Additional FPS-115 Pave Paws radars were installed in the 1990s at BMEWS sites at Thule, Greenland, and Fylingdale Moor, England. Pave Paws Computer Maintenance Operations Center, showing duplexed cyber 170-174 computers Beale AFB Pave Paws Radar Antenna Elements. FPS-115 Missile Detection Radar FPS-115 Missile Detection Radar Element Value Notes Nomenclature FPS-115 Origins Variants FPS-120 FPS-123 FPS-132 Manufacturer Raytheon Type Missile Detection Number Made 4 IEEE Band UHF Frequency 420-450 MHz PRF .02 to 20 Hz Pulse Width 250 to 16,000 us Rotation Speed Phased Arrays Power 600kw 150kw Peak (per face} Average Range 3,000nmi~ Long Range Altitude Introduced 1979 FPS-115 Radar Building FPS-115 Missile Detection Radar Variants Site Faces FPS-115 FPS-120 FPS-121 FPS-123 FPS-126 FPS-132 Notes Beale 2 4 Apr 1980 ??? FY14 Cape Cod 2 15 Aug 1980 ??? FY16 Thule 2 2QFY87 FY14 Flyingdales 3 1992 FY14 Clear 2 31 Jan 2001 ??? FY16 From Dobbins Eldorado 2 1987-1995 To Clear AFS Dobbins 2 1986-1995 Closed See Also: Dobbins AFB Pave Paws Radar Site Eldorado Air Force Station Beale AFB Pave Paws Radar Site SLBM Detection Systems US Radar Sets Sources: Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF Hq Air Combat Command, 1997, 192 pages, Pdf, page 54-56, 86, 105, 111, 122, 158. Links: Bad Links /museum/parseequip.php?html=fps-115.html&type=equip_html AN/FPS-115, AN/FPS-120, AN/FPS-123, AN/FPS-126] Global Security - AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar Space Surveillance Sensors: The PAVE PAWS and BMEWS Radars (April 12, 2012) USAF - Pave Paws Radar System Fact Sheet IEEE - National Missile Defense and Early Warning Radars: Background and Issues Ed Thelen - Beale Pave Paws Tour - 2003 Air Force eyes upgrades to PAVE PAWS, BMEWS, and PARCS ballistic missile warning radar (2012) FedBizOps - PAVE PAWS, BMEWS, and PARCS Radar Systems Wikipedia TLDR - Solid State Phased Array Radar System