16th SPCS breaks ground for new global capability

RAIDRS

Lt. Col. Bob Claude (left), 380th Space Control Squadron commander, and Lt. Col. Roger Sherman, 16th SPCS commander, break ground on a new Rapid Attack, Identification, Detection and Reporting System site July 28 in Hawaii. Information from the site will be monitored by the 16th and 380th SPCS at Peterson AFB, to detect interference and safeguard Department of Defense communications system signals. (Courtesy photo)

Published Aug. 23, 2011
By Lea Johnson
21st Space Wing Public Affairs staff writer

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- In a combined effort, the 16th Space Control Squadron and its Reserve associate unit, the 380th Space Control Squadron, broke ground July 28 for a Rapid Attack, Identification, Detection and Reporting System site in Hawaii.

Lt. Col. Roger Sherman, 16th SPCS commander, Lt. Col. Bob Claude, 380th SPCS commander, members of the Air Force Space Command capability team, and members from the Space and Missile Center attended the ground breaking.

According to Sherman, the Hawaii system is one of several planned remote RAIDRS sites around the globe. Information from all of the systems will be monitored by the 16th and 380th SPCS in a central operation location here at Peterson.

"Basically the DoD uses satellites to communicate over vast distances, and these satellite communication links are vulnerable," Sherman said.

The 16th and 380th SPCS monitor certain signals of interest from RAIDRS. If the operators pick up any interference, they start taking action.

Operators first characterize the problem, then geolocate, or pinpoint the location on the Earth, where the interference is coming from, according to Sherman.

"That will allow us to tell the user of that signal to go to a different frequency or satellite transponder. In the case of something hostile, we can provide decision makers with information as to where the hostile action is coming from," Sherman said.

The system is scheduled to be initially operational in September 2012 and reach full capability in 2013.

A ground breaking will take place next month in Florida for another remote site.

"This will be the first-time that Air Force Space Command will be able to present this global capability to the geographic combatant commander. This is a pretty monumental event," Sherman said.