The U.S. Air Force and Australia’s jointly-operated space surveillance radar system has achieved full operational capability status following completion of a relocation effort that began in 2014.Australia’s defense department said Tuesday the C-band radar system was transferred from Antigua to the Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station in Western Australia.
Australian defense minister Marise Payne said the system works to provide coverage in the southern and eastern hemisphere, track hundreds of objects and identify space debris and satellites.
Payne added that the C-band radar operates as a sensor node in the U.S. global space surveillance network.
The relocation project was completed on schedule through a partnership between the Air Force with the Australian defense force’s capability acquisition and sustainment group, Payne stated.
