BREAKING NEWS: $900 million SBX radar goes to Alaska, not Kwajalein, Marshall Islands

A 25-story tall radar dome and platform will not be based at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced today, August 15, that it has selected Adak, Alaska as the Primary Support Base (PSB) for the Sea-Based X-Band (SBX) radar. Kwajalein was one of six possible home sites for the new 390 feet long and 250 feet high, 50,000 ton radar vessel that woud deploy under its own power to support Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. The PSB, which will support the structure which is in the shape of a globe and fixed to a moveable, semi-submersible converted oil rig on pontoons, includes a mooring site and minimum logistics support for the SBX.

The MDA said the choice was made as part of the recently completed GMD extended test range final environmental impact statement (FEIS). The selection of Adak was the result of extensive analysis of numerous factors relating to operations, support and sustainability, including easy access to potential operating areas and available support infrastructure, according to a MDA release this morning.

There had been opposition in some considered cities to the $900 million offshore missile defense system. Sites included in the final assessment were Naval Station Everett, Washington; Adak, Alaska, Valdez, Alaska; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Port Hueneme, Calif. and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. In Everett, some residents were worried about low levels of electromagnetic radiation and potential health risks.

Kwajalein landowners have worried that the heavy concentration of radar systems in Roi-Namur has been a long-term hazard for the residents in the Mid-Corridor of Kwajalein. The atoll has been used by the United States as a military site since 1964, and 11 islands are leased for radar tracking, intelligence collection and missile launching facilities.

Landowners have opposed recent amended Compact of Free Association provisions for Kwajalein use and say they will refuse to sign Land-Use Agreement (LUA) for use after 2016, unless the US proposal of a beginning $15 million annual payment is increased to $19.1.

--by Aenet Rowa, Yokwe Online, August 15, 2003