The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recently reconfirmed their intentions to redevelop the Cawdor Barracks in Pembrokeshire, Wales, into the UK’s Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) site.
Originally proposed under the previous Conservative government, the new Labour government will continue seeking redevelopment of the site, which will become home to the new ground-based radar.
Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC)
DARC is a programme formed by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to provide 24/7, all-weather capabilities that will increase the ability to detect, track, identify and characterize objects in deep space [1].
The primary motivation of the programme appears to be greater awareness of space activities and the protection of communication and navigation assets. For example, helping develop commercial spaceflight, tracking satellites and debris in Earth’s orbit, and planning for the increasing likelihood of space warfare. The UK Government said in a press release [2]:
“Space is crucial for the nation and plays a critical role in our daily lives. Space services, including those delivered by satellites, underpin many aspects of modern life, from enabling navigation, monitoring the climate, forecasting the weather, supporting our emergency services, supporting our Critical National Infrastructure and protecting the public. Understanding what is in space is crucial for the UK’s interests, especially as space becomes more congested with satellites and debris.”
One of the practical uses of DARC is the alerting of a potential collision in enough time for the satellite to manoeuvre away from the oncoming debris. DARC will also identify adversarial threats that have the potential to disrupt or deny civil and military space services.
DARC will be able to provide better accuracy, increased capacity, and more agile tracking compared to current radar capable of tracking objects in orbit through state of the art radar, and the three radar being strategically located in Australia, the UK, and the US to provide full coverage.
It is expected that the Australian site will be completed in 2026, with all sites aiming for completion by 2030.
The Site
The UK’s site is located at the Cawdor Barracks in Pembrokeshire, the current home to 14 Signal Regiment. The site was set for closure by no later than 2028 and so the redevelopment will keep the site open beyond this date with up to 100 personnel to operate the radar.
The location of Cawdor Barracks is shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Cawdor Barracks location.
According to the Scoping Report submitted on behalf of the MOD back in March 2023, the proposals comprise:
- Approximately 6 transmit radar antennas and associated infrastructure;
- Approximately 21 receive radar antennas and associated infrastructure;
- Radar antenna operations area (proposed to be within the receiver array area);
- Sub-station and grid connection.
Pager Power
Pager Power has expertise in assessing electromagnetic interference of wind and building developments upon radar and radio telescopes capable of tracking objects in space, as well as traditional surveillance radar.
If you encounter objections from a stakeholder regarding a potential impact upon radar or radio telescopes, please get in touch.
References
[1] – Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs (2023) US, UK, Australia announce trilateral Deep Space Advanced radar capability initiative, Secretary of the Air Force International Affairs. Available at: https://www.safia.hq.af.mil/IA-News/Article/3619304/us-uk-australia-announce-trilateral-deep-space-advanced-radar-capability-initia/ (Accessed: 14 August 2024).
[2] – Ministry of Defence, Healey, J. and Stevens, J. (2024) Plans announced to redevelop Cawdor Barracks for landmark radar initiative, GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-announced-to-redevelop-cawdor-barracks-for-landmark-radar-initiative (Accessed: 14 August 2024).
