Cobra Dane


The AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE is a PESA phased array radar installation operated by Raytheon for the United States Air Force at Eareckson Air Station on the island of Shemya, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. This radar system was built in 1976 and brought on-line in 1977 for the primary mission of gathering intelligence about Russia's ICBM program in support of verification of the SALT II arms limitation treaty. Its single face diameter phased array radar antenna faces the Kamchatka Peninsula and Russia's Kura Test Range. COBRA DANE operates in the 1215–1400 MHz band.
The "COBRA" designation indicated a General Defense Intelligence Program.
It initially employed a Control Data Corporation Cyber 74 mainframe computer for data processing.
Data from the radar is sent to the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. It is also listed as a partner of the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office and works with the Missile Defense Agency, under the control of the 21st Operations Group.
The Cobra Dane radar has been upgraded to be integrated in the Missile Defenses Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System. The improvement includes midcourse BMDS sensor coverage by providing acquisition, tracking, object classification, and data that can be used for cueing, launch of interceptor missiles, and course updates of interceptors while retaining the site's legacy intelligence and space track missions. The Air Force maintains responsibility for the Cobra Dane radar operations, maintenance, and sustainment.

Technical Specifications