WASHINGTON — As a part of the trilateral security partnership generally known as AUKUS, a network of three space-tracking radars will probably be arrange in Australia, the UK and the US.
The three nations announced Dec. 2 they are going to host and operate the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC), a next generation ground-based sensor funded by the U.S. Space Force and currently being developed by Northrop Grumman.
“The Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability will leverage the geography of the US, Australia, and the UK to further enhance our collective space domain awareness: the power to trace, discover and characterize space objects,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb said Dec. 2 in a news release.
Three sites to be built by 2030
DARC will provide 24/7, all-weather capabilities to trace and characterize objects deep in space — in geosynchronous orbit as much as 22,000 miles above Earth.
The primary DARC radar site, to be constructed in Exmouth, Western Australia, is predicted to be operational in 2026. All three sites are projected to be accomplished by 2030. They’ll support space defense initiatives, space-traffic management and global surveillance of military and business satellites.
Cawdor Barracks in Wales has been identified because the U.K.’s preferred site for DARC, pending an environmental impact assessment.