 "US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks about the Golden Dome missile defence shield, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, on May 20, 2025. Reuters File")
The Pentagon has successfully tested a long-range radar system in Alaska capable of detecting missile threats from Russia or China, with potential future integration into the Golden Dome missile defence shield.
According to a Reuters report, citing Pentagon on Tuesday, the Long Range Discrimination Radar successfully acquired, tracked, and reported missile target data.
These are key tasks for Golden Dome, a $175 billion programme aimed at protecting the US and possibly allies from ballistic missiles, added the report.
The US Defence Department’s long-range radar in central Alaska, developed by Lockheed Martin, is part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defence system aimed at enhancing the performance of missile interceptors stationed in Alaska and California.
These interceptors are tasked with neutralising potential threats from Iran or North Korea.
The US Missile Defense Agency, in coordination with the US Space Force and US Northern Command, carried out a flight test of the radar on Monday at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.
During this test, a target developed by MDA was air-launched over the Northern Pacific Ocean and flew over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) off the southern coast of Alaska where it was tracked by LRDR.
The Golden Dome missile defence shield is designed to establish a satellite-based network capable of detecting, tracking, and intercepting incoming missiles.
Modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome, the programme has come under political scrutiny and faces funding challenges due to its high projected costs.
While it is slated to become operational by January 2029, experts have raised doubts about the feasibility of both the timeline and the budget.
With inputs from agencies