Courtesy Photo | An unarmed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches during the Glory...... read more read more
Subscribe
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – A U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command team played an important behind-the-scenes role in supporting the Air Force’s Glory Trip-252, Feb. 19.
An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, during Air Force Global Strike Command’s operational test and impacted in a pre-established target zone roughly 4,200 miles away near USASMDC’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. RTS is a range and test facility located halfway between Hawaii and Australia.
“The Reagan Test Site serves as the supporting range for all Glory Trip missions,” said Army Lt. Col. Casey Rumfelt, RTS range director. “It’s a vital national asset used to support operational and developmental tests of our nation’s offensive and defensive systems. RTS provides a unique suite of instrumentation and an ideal geographic location to meet many of the U.S. testing needs that cannot be accomplished anywhere else in the world.”
The purpose of the ICBM test launch is to demonstrate the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent. The test results will verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system and provide valuable data. The ICBM test launch program demonstrates the operational capability of the Minuteman III and ensures the United States’ ability to maintain a strong, credible nuclear deterrent as a key element of national security and the security of U.S. allies and partners.
During the test, RTS sensors, including high-fidelity metric and signature radars as well as optical sensors and telemetry, played a role in the research, development, test and evaluation in support of America’s defense and space programs. RTS provided range instrumentation, ground range safety, meteorological support and data analysis and uses a full spectrum of support, including multiple radar frequencies, telemetry, and multiple high-speed optical and camera systems to capture every measurable data opportunity and provide data and information critical to system performance evaluations.
Samuel W. Chard, acting director of RTS, said the range personnel provide cradle-to-grave support for every mission, support requirements definition for the test, environmental impact assessment, range scheduling, range safety and logistical support. There are safety, environmental, host nation and government requirements that must be addressed for each test.
“RTS performs flight safety analysis for the flights as well as collects critical test data to support Air Force Global Strike,” Chard said. “RTS teammates performed admirably throughout the months of planning and during the weeks leading up to test execution activities.”
Chard said the RTS team of U.S. Army civilian and contractor employees are consummate professionals and are very dedicated to the RTS missions. In addition to performing testing for various DOD customers through the year, RTS also provides U.S. Space Command continues space domain awareness information.
Michael W. Butler, chief of the Mission Operations Division, said glory trips are key tests to ensure the readiness of the country’s ICBM fleet and the team at RTS is proud of their ability to provide the support they need to evaluate that readiness and provide the data they need.
“Many of the Huntsville-based operations team traveled to Kwajalein Atoll to conduct operations from the Kwajalein control center, and from the individual radar sites, rather than performing these functions remotely from Huntsville, as has been the norm for many years now,” Butler said. “This posture has also allowed the RTS team to exercise the continuity of operations plan in the event that something happens to the Huntsville operations center.
“Reagan Test Site comprises personnel and equipment across the globe and we maintain the capability, as demonstrated on GT-252, to continue operations in the event that something happens to our remote operations site in Huntsville,” he added.
| Date Taken: | 02.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2025 07:56 |
| Story ID: | 491470 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, RTS professionals support Air Force Glory Trip, by Jason Cutshaw, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
