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U.S. Navy tests Cobra Judy replacement

TEWKSBURY, Mass., April 3 (UPI) -- A new dual-band, active phased-array radar suite for the U.S. military to monitor and track ballistic missiles is on path for initial operational capability.

In its first tests last month, the Cobra Judy replacement radar system was integrated aboard a U.S. Navy ship and successfully acquired and tracked both stages of an Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral and collected all associated data, Raytheon, which leads the CJR team, said.

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"CJR continues to excel at each stage of development and testing -- no small feat for a new program with its level of scale and complexity," added U.S. Navy Capt. Rod Wester, CJR program manager, Program Executive Office-Integrated Warfare Systems.

"The performance of the radars -- and the platform as a whole -- has been outstanding and it is a testament to the skill, experience and dedication of the government-industry team of experts, working together to bring this critical capability closer to deployment."

The CJR consists of large-scale X- and S-band, phased array sensors and a common radar controller. It is for ballistic missile monitoring, data collection and treaty verification and also aids in U.S. missile defense. It replaces the Cobra Judy system aboard the USNS Observation Island and operational since 1981.

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In earlier tests, the system demonstrated dual-band acquisition and tracking of satellites under the control of the CJR common radar suite controller.

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