AN ARMY barracks is to be converted into a high-tech defense system to help the UK in the “space war”.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that the Cawdor barracks in southwest Wales will host the Advanced Deep Space Radar Capability (DARC).
Darc will detect, track and identify objects as small as a football in the depths in collaboration with the radars of the United Kingdom’s allies.
The 27 radar antennas for the St Davids Peninsula in Pembrokeshire will be 20 metres high.
The program will include a network of ground-based radars in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom to provide global space surveillance.
They will develop the ability of AUKUS nations to track objects in areas deep to approximately 22,000 miles (36,000 km) from Earth.
The Defense Ministry says the capability will benefit those countries’ land, air and sea forces, while protecting critical infrastructure and leveraging the national structure and local industries.
Defense Secretary John Healey said the proposed redevelopment “secures jobs in the country and defense functions for the future. “
He said: “Space plays a role in our daily lives – it is used in everything from our mobile phones to banking services.
“It is also used across UK Defense to highlight important responsibilities such as supporting army operations, force navigation and intelligence gathering.
“This new radar program will not only enhance our deep space experience, but will also help protect our space assets alongside our closest partners. “
Cawdor Barracks is a Royal Air Force flight station and a Royal Navy base.
It currently houses the 14th Signal Regiment, and the Ministry of Defence said in 2016 that the barracks would close by 2028 at the earliest.
The redevelopment of the Darc site would keep the site open, with a permanent presence of up to a hundred more people to work with and radar capacity.
Wales Secretary of State Jo Stevens said it was an “important task for Wales”.
She said: “With our awareness and understanding of what is happening in space, we can continue to ensure that it remains safe, sustainable and available to everyone. “
Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China spent around US$14 billion ($11. 2 billion) on its ambitious program in 2023, according to Statista.
Speaking at the 39th Space Symposium earlier this month, General Stephen Whiting of the US Space Command said: “Frankly, China is moving at an impressive speed.
“Since 2018, China has tripled its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites in orbit.
“And with those systems, they have built a network of destruction over the Pacific Ocean to find, repair, track and, yes, attack the functions of the United States military and its allies. “
The United States Marine Corps defines a “death net” as “a dynamic network that seamlessly integrates intelligence and warfare functions across a variety of domains, aggregating land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. “
The country has “built a wide variety of anti-space weapons, from reversible jammers to co-orbital and direct-ascent kinetic ASATs,” according to Whiting.
As part of global efforts to identify permanent habitable facilities on the Moon, China has also revealed plans for its Skynet “bird’s eye view” surveillance off the planet.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has openly expressed his fears about the Chinese in space, which Beijing says are purely scientific.
Nelson warned this week that China is hiding other military projects in space, which could lead Beijing to try to claim parts of the Moon as its own territory.
The government has committed to collaborating with the network in submitting proposals for Darc.
They said there would be two public information events before the legal consultation period required by Pembrokeshire County Council.
Members of the MoD Darc program team will attend these occasions to discuss proposals, answer any questions and hear the perspectives of the local community.
However, local activists introduced a crusade in May to prevent those plans, called Parc Against Darc.
They called it “one of the most health-damaging military installations, ruining tourism and destroying the skyline ever proposed in the United Kingdom. “
Want to learn more about the strange and glorious world of science? From the moon to the human body, we’ve covered it. . .
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