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Fielding event marks end of radar construction by Army engineers in Alaska

USACE Alaska District
Published Dec. 15, 2021
From left: Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District; Lt. Col. William Hassey, commander of Clear Space Force Station; and Randy Bowker, deputy for program management at the Alaska District; attend the initial fielding ceremony for the long range discrimination radar on Dec. 6 at Clear Space Force Station.

From left: Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District; Lt. Col. William Hassey, commander of Clear Space Force Station; and Randy Bowker, deputy for program management at the Alaska District; attend the initial fielding ceremony for the long range discrimination radar on Dec. 6 at Clear Space Force Station. The Alaska District managed the construction of the $1.5 billion facility over the course of nearly five years to strengthen the national defense mission against potential threats from foreign adversaries.

Senior leaders for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District pause to view the face of the newly constructed long range discrimination radar during a tour of the mission control facility on Dec. 6 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.

Senior leaders for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District pause to view the face of the newly constructed long range discrimination radar during a tour of the mission control facility on Dec. 6 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska. Randy Bowker (second from left), deputy for program management, and Col. Damon Delarosa (third from left), district commander, also attended an initial fielding ceremony that celebrated the radar project’s transition from the construction phase to the testing, operation and maintenance stage.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District nears completion of the long range discrimination radar at Clear Space Force Station on Oct. 15, 2020.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District nears completion of the long range discrimination radar at Clear Space Force Station on Oct. 15, 2020. Designed and built at a cost of $347.5 million, the project was executed in two phases. The initial work provided a mission control facility, equipment shelter foundation and security complex. Follow-on endeavor established a maintenance facility and power plant.

The Long Range Discrimination Radar complex during construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District on Sep. 23, 2019 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.

The Long Range Discrimination Radar complex during construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District on Sep. 23, 2019 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska. Of the approximately $1.5 billion to design, build, construct and test the radar, $347.5 million went toward military construction.

A crane places the final structural beam for the long range discrimination radar’s equipment shelter foundation on June 4, 2019 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.

A crane places the final structural beam for the long range discrimination radar’s equipment shelter foundation on June 4, 2019 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska. The initial fielding ceremony on Dec. 6, 2021 marked the accomplishment of a major milestone in the overall program, which has now transitioned from the construction phase to the testing, operation and maintenance stage.

Workers pour the foundation for the mission control facility of the long range discrimination radar on Aug. 28, 2018 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.

Workers pour the foundation for the mission control facility of the long range discrimination radar on Aug. 28, 2018 at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District placed 15 million pounds of concrete over 19 continuous hours for the foundation of the building. The effort required the services of three concrete making plants and six pump trucks to complete the job.

At a military installation tucked along a remote stretch of two-lane highway in Interior Alaska, officials recently celebrated the achievement of a major milestone with a fielding event for a newly constructed long range discrimination radar on Dec. 6.

The national defense system at Clear Space Force Station was delivered through a collaborative effort between the DoD Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Space Force and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District.

“As the nation’s expert in arctic engineering and construction, we take great pride in delivering projects that support the national defense mission,” said Col. Damon Delarosa, district commander.

The accomplishment marks the transition from the construction phase of the project to the testing, operation and maintenance stage of the system.

“This initial delivery is an important step to declare that we are done with the major construction,” said Vice Adm. John A. Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency. “We are now fully into the test mode of this radar.”

The new radar is designed to protect the homeland by tracking potential ballistic missile attacks from foreign adversaries.  The goal is to be fully operational by 2023, according to Hill.

The radar is equipped with a wide field of view and arrays on the sides of the facility each measuring 60-feet high by 60-feet wide. These and other features provide the ability to search, track and discriminate multiple objects in space, including all classes of ballistic missiles. Future iterations of the radar's software will allow it to also track advanced threats.

For the Alaska District, the massive undertaking required a huge commitment of resources and intense application of engineering expertise to produce a successful outcome. Of the approximately $1.5 billion to design, build, construct and test the radar, $347.5 million went toward the infrastructure that will support the radar.  The project was executed in two phases. The initial work provided a mission control facility, equipment shelter foundation and security complex. The follow-on endeavor established a maintenance facility and backup power plant.   

“The military construction effort was significant and only could have been accomplished by a talented team of architect-engineer firms and construction contractors as well as personnel from our resident office and project management division,” said Matthew Johnson, program manager at the Alaska District.

To build a long-term project at a location an hour and a half south of Fairbanks, the district established a temporary workforce camp to house the crews and ensure that the program could be delivered on time. Since construction at the site began in 2017, 863,000 hours have been logged to deliver the critical components that will make the radar a success.

Ultimately, strong relationships and effective communication were a vital aspect of the construction process.

“The most challenging part of construction has been managing interfaces – both between prime and subcontractors, as well as the radar prime,” Johnson said.

All the primary contracts were awarded to Alaskan construction companies that worked under the management of the Alaska District. In an impressive feat of coordination and engineering, USACE placed 3,980 cubic yards of concrete over 19 continuous hours to lay the foundation of the radar’s equipment shelter in 2018. The effort required the services of three concrete batch plants and six pump trucks to complete the job.

Construction halted temporarily in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the setback, most projects were completed on or before schedule to keep everything on track.

“We are nearly 95% complete, but that last 5% will take 100% of the team’s effort,” Johnson said.

In the coming months, the Alaska District will finalize and integrate the backup power plant with the rest of the campus. The final step will be to execute an integrated system test that verifies functionality of the facility with the radar.

“After nearly five years of dedicated focus and hard work, it’s an honor to hand over the reins to this important project and see it advance to the next phase,” Delarosa said.

To see a video of the construction process, click on this link:

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Contact
Rachel Napolitan
907-753-2520
public.affairs3@usace.army.mil

Release no. 21-024