Air Defense

Long Range Discrimination Radar

Also known as
  • LRDR
  • Long-Range Discrimination Radar

Long Range Discrimination Radar is a Lockheed Martin-built, solid-state GaN S-band AESA radar at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska. Its public record centers on homeland missile-defense sensing: operational acceptance in 2025, space-domain data collection, and FTX-26a live-target tracking that fed C2BMC for a simulated Ground-Based Midcourse Defense engagement.

Long Range Discrimination Radar, Long-range ballistic-missile discrimination radar, Air Defense
Image source: File:211026-D-D0500-101.jpg
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
Long-range ballistic-missile discrimination radar
Service note
2010s-present

Specifications

Radar type
Multi-mission, multi-face active electronically scanned array radar
Frequency band
S-band
Technology
Solid-state gallium nitride (GaN) architecture
Architecture
Open-architecture, scalable S4R radar technology
Mission
Search, track, discrimination, and hit assessment for homeland missile defense
Integration
Provides precision track, discrimination, and hit-assessment data to the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control System
Flight-test integration
FTX-26a tracked and discriminated a ballistic-missile target and sent data to C2BMC for a simulated GMD engagement
Operating site
Clear Space Force Station, Alaska
Homeland Missile-Defense Architecture

LRDR is documented as a sensor node in a wider homeland missile-defense architecture rather than a standalone combat system.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Ground-based ballistic missile defense system, Air DefenseGround-based Midcourse DefenseGround-based ballistic missile defense system

The FTX-26a report says LRDR forwarded flight-test data through C2BMC to support a simulated Ground-Based Midcourse Defense engagement.

Sources: An American Shield: FTX-26a LRDR Demonstration

C2BMC, Ballistic missile defense command-and-control system, Support EquipmentC2BMCBallistic missile defense command-and-control system

The same FTX-26a report says C2BMC commanded the test and received LRDR track data for sharing with the simulated GMD engagement.

Sources: An American Shield: FTX-26a LRDR Demonstration

Radar Family Context

Lockheed Martin describes LRDR as part of its newer solid-state radar technology line for missile-defense sensing.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
AN/SPY-7 radar, Solid-state S-band AESA radar family, Air DefenseAN/SPY-7 radarSolid-state S-band AESA radar family

Lockheed Martin's 2025 LRDR feature places LRDR's S4R radar technology in a family that also includes SPY-7 and TPY-6.

Sources: LRDR: America's First Line of Defense

Operational Role And Test Context

LRDR is best read as a fixed strategic sensor: the radar's value is the quality of track and discrimination data it can pass into the missile-defense command network.

ContextSource-backed detail
Fixed siteThe public record places the radar at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, where MDA held the initial fielding ceremony in 2021.
Acceptance pathLockheed Martin reported DD250 final acceptance and handover to MDA in 2024; Space Force Combat Forces Command later took operational acceptance.
Missile-defense networkFTX-26a showed LRDR forwarding live flight-test data to C2BMC for a simulated Ground-Based Midcourse Defense engagement.
Radar technologyLockheed Martin describes LRDR as a GaN, open-architecture S-band radar using S4R technology in a family that also includes TPY-6 and SPY-7.
Public use statusAvailable public sources document operational readiness, space-domain data collection, and flight-test tracking rather than a named combat engagement.

Sources: Initial Fielding of Long-Range Discrimination Radar in Alaska; Lockheed Martin Successfully Transitions Long Range Discrimination Radar to the Missile Defense Agency; Combat Forces Command Long Range Discrimination Radar operational acceptance; An American Shield: FTX-26a LRDR Demonstration; LRDR: America's First Line of Defense.

Timeline

Long Range Discrimination Radar Key Events

  1. Planned Alaska site announced

    The Department of Defense announced a planned LRDR deployment in Alaska and said the radar was expected to begin defensive operations in 2020.

    Sources: Department of Defense Identifies Planned Site of Future Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR)

  2. Initial fielding ceremony in Alaska

    The Missile Defense Agency held the initial fielding ceremony for LRDR at Clear Space Force Station, marking the radar's transition into fielding and test operations.

    Sources: Initial Fielding of Long-Range Discrimination Radar in Alaska

  3. Transitioned to the Missile Defense Agency

    Lockheed Martin said LRDR completed DD250 final acceptance and was handed over to the Missile Defense Agency ahead of the operational-capability decision process.

    Sources: Lockheed Martin Successfully Transitions Long Range Discrimination Radar to the Missile Defense Agency

  4. FTX-26a live-target tracking test

    Lockheed Martin and MDA said LRDR detected, tracked, and discriminated an air-launched ballistic-missile target with countermeasures, then forwarded data to C2BMC for a simulated GMD engagement.

    Sources: An American Shield: FTX-26a LRDR Demonstration

  5. Operational acceptance

    U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command took operational acceptance of LRDR after MDA completed the operational trial period.

    Sources: Combat Forces Command Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) operational acceptance

Media

Long Range Discrimination Radar Videos

Long Range Discrimination Radar Images

Long Range Discrimination Radar, Long-range ballistic-missile discrimination radar, Air Defense - view 1
Source: File:Fielding event marks end of radar construction by Army engineers in Alaska (190923-A-A1410-1001).jpg
Long Range Discrimination Radar, Long-range ballistic-missile discrimination radar, Air Defense - view 2
Source: File:Fielding event marks end of radar construction by Army engineers in Alaska (211206-A-QR280-1024).jpg
Related Weapon Systems
Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Ground-based ballistic missile defense system, Air DefenseAir DefenseGround-based Midcourse DefenseGround-based ballistic missile defense systemGround-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the U.S. homeland ballistic missile defense system built around silo-launched Ground-Based Interceptors, missile-defense command networks, and long-range sensor inputs. Boeing has led GMD integration since 1998, while Army operators and MDA test reporting show the system's current public record is readiness testing and homeland-defense alert posture rather than documented combat employment.
Next Generation Interceptor (NGI), Ground-launched ballistic missile interceptor, Air DefenseAir DefenseNext Generation Interceptor (NGI)Ground-launched ballistic missile interceptorNext Generation Interceptor (NGI) is Lockheed Martin's planned homeland ballistic missile interceptor for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system. The program moved from competing 2021 development awards to a 2024 Lockheed Martin downselect and a 2026 Courtland production facility, with public sources emphasizing multiple kill vehicles, solid-rocket propulsion, in-flight communications upgrades, and schedule risk around the original 2028 fielding target.
AN/TPQ-53 multimission radar, Mobile multimission counterfire and air-surveillance radar, Electronic WarfareElectronic WarfareAN/TPQ-53 multimission radarMobile multimission counterfire and air-surveillance radarThe AN/TPQ-53, commonly called Q-53, is a Lockheed Martin mobile active electronically scanned array radar that began as the Army's counterfire replacement for AN/TPQ-36 and AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder radars. Its baseline mission is to detect, classify, track, and locate mortar, artillery, and rocket launches in 90-degree or 360-degree modes, while software and open-architecture upgrades have extended the same family into counter-UAS, air-surveillance, and wider multimission radar roles.

Sources

Long Range Discrimination RadarPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports manufacturer background, open-architecture context, and official product context for LRDR as Lockheed Martin's operational homeland-defense radar. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) Fact SheetPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports LRDR technical background, GaN-based scalable subarray architecture, and long-range discrimination mission context. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Department of Defense Identifies Planned Site of Future Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR)Publisher: U.S. Department of Defense | Note: Supports the 2015 Alaska site announcement and the early deployment timeline for LRDR. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Initial Fielding of Long-Range Discrimination Radar in AlaskaPublisher: 168th Wing | Note: Supports the 2021 initial fielding ceremony at Clear Space Force Station and the radar's fielding-transition milestone. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Combat Forces Command Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) operational acceptancePublisher: U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command | Note: Supports operational acceptance in 2025 and the radar's mission to provide precision discrimination and hit-assessment data to the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control System. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Lockheed Martin Successfully Transitions Long Range Discrimination Radar to the Missile Defense AgencyPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports the 2024 DD250 final acceptance, transition milestone from Lockheed Martin to the Missile Defense Agency, and start of Space Force space-domain awareness data collection. | Accessed: 2026-06-29An American Shield: FTX-26a LRDR DemonstrationPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports the FTX-26a flight-test event, LRDR live target detection, tracking, and discrimination, C2BMC data forwarding, and simulated GMD engagement context. | Accessed: 2026-06-29LRDR: America's First Line of DefensePublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports LRDR's operational homeland-defense framing, S4R technology context, and relation to TPY-6 and SPY-7 within Lockheed Martin's next-generation radar family. | Accessed: 2026-06-29File:211026-D-D0500-101.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Wikimedia Commons file page for the public-domain U.S. Space Force photo used as the primary image. | Accessed: 2026-06-29File:Fielding event marks end of radar construction by Army engineers in Alaska (190923-A-A1410-1001).jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Wikimedia Commons file page for the public-domain Army photo showing LRDR construction at Clear Space Force Station. | Accessed: 2026-06-29File:Fielding event marks end of radar construction by Army engineers in Alaska (211206-A-QR280-1024).jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Wikimedia Commons file page for the public-domain Army photo of the LRDR initial fielding ceremony. | Accessed: 2026-06-29