Long Range Discrimination Radar demonstrates live ballistic missile tracking in Alaska
NewsJune 25, 2025
CLEAR, Alaska. The Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR), built by Lockheed Martin, detected, tracked, and discriminated a live ballistic missile target during Flight Test Other-26a (FTX-26a), the company announced in a statement.
The test, conducted over the North Pacific, demonstrated LRDR’s ability to provide targeting data to the U.S. homeland missile defense system in a complex environment, the statement reads. Operating under the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system, LRDR transmitted tracking data that supported a simulated Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) engagement, the company says.
According to the statement, this marked the first demonstration of LRDR detecting, tracking, and discriminating threats in a complex scenario, with C2BMC distributing the radar data for simulated engagement. The open architecture of the LRDR is designed to support future upgrades and integration with evolving missile defense technologies, the company adds.
