Sea-Based X-Band (SBX-1)

History of Sea-Based X-Band (SBX-1)

With Russia, China, North Korea and Iran all pointing ballistic missiles at the United States or its allies, the eyes in the sky that demand the West are needed now more than ever. The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water in the world and includes the Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tokyo, Philippine Sea, Sea of ??Japan,????Okhotsk, South China Sea and Tasman Seas - These areas are more than 165.2 million square kilometers and have all proven to be potential hotspots.

When a ballistic missile is launched on U.S. soil, every second is required to detect the launch, track the identified warhead and obtain a "missile launch" rating. In August 2002, Boeing was awarded a $31 million contract from the United States Missile Defense Agency (USMDA) to develop a new maritime radar system for its Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).

In January 2003, the US government commissioned the Norwegian Moss Maritime Company to purchase a 50,000-ton semi-submersible offshore platform for the new radar system at a cost of US$900 million.

On April 25, 2003, the Dutch ocean-going tug SmitWijs Rotterdam left the Norwegian waters, dragged a 50,000-ton platform from Moss Maritime, and started a voyage across the Atlantic. On May 30, SmitWijs Rotterdam took the platform to the Port of Brownsville, Texas, and handed over the product to U.S.

Missile Defense Agency (MDA) authorities at the Keppel AMFELS shipyard for modification. During the overhaul, the Kiewit Offshore Services Company in Ingleside, Texas, is building the SBX radar unit.

After eight smaller domes were installed on the platform, it was towed from Brownsville to Ingleside on March 12, 2005, to receive the SBX radar after more than 20 months of modifications by Keppel.

The X-band platform is approximately 390 ft (118.9 m) long, 240 ft (73.1 m) wide and 280 ft (85 m) high from the keel to the top of the radome. The platform features a twin-hull design capable of withstanding strong winds and harsh sea conditions in excess of 130 mph. The platform operates with a draft of 32 feet (10 meters), but once in the station, the platform can hold millions of gallons of seawater for use as ballast water, increasing the draft to 98 feet 5 inches (30 meters). This is done to improve stability and reduce drift.

The platform has a boat-like bridge, control room and accommodation for 75-85 crew members (some provided by the military, but mostly by civilian contractors). The spacious platform provides ample workspace for mission requirements, 60-day food storage, a helideck and fuel storage for up to 1.8 million gallons of diesel.

The platform moves at a maximum speed of 9 knots and weighs 50,000 tons. Onboard equipment is powered by six 3.6 MW generators.

The radome (or "radome") consists of 22,000 modules, each with more than two transmit and receive modules mounted - a total of 45,000 mounted on an octagonal base. The signal sent or received by the radome requires 69,700 multi-section circuits.

The array requires more than 1 megawatt of power to run thousands of circuits. The central dome has a flexible cover supported by positive air pressure and depending on weather conditions - increases or decreases air pressure to keep it rigid.

The radome itself is 31.4 meters high, 36.5 meters in diameter and weighs 8,165 kilograms.

On April 2, 2005, a heavy duty double gantry crane lifted the radome onto the platform, and on April 29, the SBX dome was secured and the system was attached to the platform, while still docked at Ingleside. Now that all work is complete, the platform is towed into the Gulf of Mexico by the ocean-going tug Dove, and sea trials began on July 1, 2005. Her crew continued to train her various systems, and on November 18, 2005, the Dutch semi-submersible heavy lift vessel Blue Marlin left the SBX-1 platform and left Ingleside to travel along the southern coast of South America to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii .

Blue Marlin was approved to do such a heavy job because on previous missions it had towed oil rigs weighing around 60,000 tonnes offshore. The Blue Marlin flooded her ballast tanks, lowering the 120,850-square-foot well deck below the waterline. This allows floating cargo to be positioned above the axle deck for proper loading.

The ballast tanks were then evacuated and the well deck began to rise, lifting the cargo, which is now above sea level. The Blue Marlin itself can cruise at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph), which has proven to be a remarkable quality considering the combined weight of the ship and cargo.

In mid-December 2005, the Blue Marlin crossed the western Strait of Magellan en route to Hawaii, entering Pearl Harbor on January 10, 2006 after a voyage of 15,000 miles. Due to the long travel time, she has now entered an overhaul stage. After repairs and sea trials in Hawaiian waters, the marine tugboat Dove towed the SBX-1 on its first mission in Fuller Bay, Alaska. By mid-October 2006, the platform was attached to eight 75-ton anchors that embedded it into the seabed.

By April 2008, the SBX-1 had performed multiple missions over 4,000 nautical miles in the Pacific Ocean. On January 31, 2010, the SBX-1 participated in a simulated test of a North Korean or Iranian missile launch.

The test failed due to software issues and a bug in the test vehicle that simulates the missile itself.

Boeing initiated planned maintenance at Vigor Shipyard in Seattle in May 2011. The SBX-1 received a $27 million radar upgrade. This work was completed in August 2011, after which the SBX-1 left Seattle for deployment in the Pacific again. In April 2012, the SBX-1 departed Pearl Harbor and is believed to be used to monitor impending North Korean missile launches between April 12 and 16.

The SBX-1 was once again deployed to the area to monitor another missile launch planned by North Korea in late 2012.

On April 3, 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense stated that the SBX-1 mission was designed to provide radar coverage for possible missile launch threats anywhere in the world. At her speed of about nine knots, the voyage from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to Japan would take about 16 days.

The Ministry of Defense also said that the SBX-1 will undergo further planned sea trials.

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