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 El Dorado 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. 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 See Also: 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: Radomes - 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