The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was the first operational ballistic missile detection radar. Built in 1959, BMEWS could provide long-range warning of a missile attack over the polar region of the northern hemisphere.
There were three installations: the United States Air
Force facilities of Thule Air Base, Greenland; Clear Air Station, Alaska; and the Royal Air Force facility of Fylingdales, in the United Kingdom. They could only
spot missles when they appeared over the horizon, which led the Soviet
Union to develop FOBS. Defense Support Program (DSP) early warning satellites were developed in part to counter this threat.
The radars operate in the 420-450 MHz (UHF) frequency range. Information received from the BMEWS radar system is forwarded to
Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, Colorado. A prototype of BMEWS began providing surveillance and tracking of ballistic missiles by 1958, and went
operational on February 4, 1959, to
gather data on missiles fired at the Atlantic Missile Range, as well as satellites and meteors. The full BMEWS radar network became
operational in the early 1960s. The Thule and Fylingdales sites were upgraded with
phased array radars in the 1990s.
The Clear, Alaska site was upgraded with PAVE PAWS radars starting in the late
1990s.
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