US deploys sea Radar

From the Manila Bulletin (Apr 12): US deploys sea Radar

A powerful US military sea-based radar is now in place to detect any possible missile launches by North Korea, according to a senior US defense official.

“The SBX is in position,” the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP late Wednesday.

The official would not offer more details but confirmed the SBX, a floating X-band radar that resembles a giant golf ball, had reached a location at sea where it could track missiles fired by the Pyongyang regime.

US and South Korean forces remain on heightened alert amid expectations North Korea will launch a missile or multiple missiles before the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of the North’s late founder, Kim Il-Sung.

The United States has already bolstered its missile defenses in the region to help protect allies South Korea and Japan as well as US bases in Guam.

Guam has raised its official threat level and on Thursday tested its emergency alert system after warnings from North Korea identifying the island as a potential missile target.

With a North Korean missile test expected at any time, authorities said the US territory in the western Pacific was on yellow alert, the middle phase of a three-step “traffic light” system comprising green, yellow and red levels.

“This means we should continue with our daily lives while preparing ourselves for any potential of an emergency,” the government said in a statement, describing the risk to the island as “medium.”

“It also means the government pulls its resources together through the emergency operations centre to ensure we are prepared to respond to emergencies.”

Two US Arleigh-class destroyers have been sent to the western Pacific with anti-missile weaponry while ground-based THAAD interceptor batteries had been deployed to Guam, a US territory about 3,380 kilometers (2,100 miles) southeast of North Korea.

The US military also staged shows of force as part of drills with South Korea, with over-flights by B-52 and B-2 bombers as well as sophisticated F-22 fighter jets.

The floating X-band radar, which sits atop a platform similar to an oil rig, had been stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The SBX radar, which is 85 meters (280 feet) tall and operated by civilian contractors, is supposed to detect missile launches over a range of at least 2,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel warned Wednesday that North Korea has come very close to a “dangerous line” with its sharp statements and provocative steps.

“North Korea has been, with its bellicose rhetoric, its actions, has been skating very close to a dangerous line,” he said during a press conference at the Pentagon. “Their actions and words have not helped defuse a combustible situation.”

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