Space and Missile Defense Command News Feature by Jason Cutshaw

2024 November 14

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. - A U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command team played an important behind-the-scenes role in Air Force Global Strike Command's recent operational test to showcase readiness of U.S. nuclear forces as safe, secure, reliable and effective.

A U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy joint team launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Nov. 5, 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' remote location and full RF spectrum coverage provides a critical capability to the United States, which combined with the only land-impact site, makes Kwajalein Atoll the ideal facility for ICBM testing," said Lt. Col. Casey A. Rumfelt, RTS range director. "The military, civilians and contract workforce including the RMI people make what RTS does possible thus empowering the United States to continue to develop, test and refine some of the most advanced technologies in the world. This team is truly one of a kind and I'm blessed to be part of it."

Terry Bauer, test range control officer, said supporting the launch from Huntsville were members of USASMDC assigned to the RTS Operations Center-Huntsville, which controls sensors at the RTS. ROC-H is the command-and-control facility for missile defense testing and for space operations at RTS despite being more than 6,500 miles from Kwajalein.

"I was the interface between the customer and RTS," Bauer said. "I controlled the checklist, which monitored the range's progress and kept the U.S. Air Force informed of our status and readiness to support the test. I worked with our prime support contractor before the mission to ensure RTS was ready for the mission."

RTS sensors, including high-fidelity metric and signature radars, as well as optical sensors and telemetry, play a role in the research, development, test and evaluation in support of America's defense and space programs. RTS provides 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.

RTS, located 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii, is one of the major range and test facility bases supporting missions. They collect radar, optical and telemetry data in the terminal phase of flight on behalf of the Air Force customer and track vehicles down range using radars, telemetry and optics instrumentation. For this test, RTS provided scoring data from when the vehicle impacts into the Kwajalein Missile Impact Scoring System.

"RTS is critical to mission success," Bauer said. "All radar, telemetry and scoring data from the acquisition of the signal from the test objects at mid-point of the trajectory to splash down is collected by RS sensors. The data is analyzed by the RTS Data Analysis Center post mission and sent to the Air Force customer."

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.

"RTS provides the Department of Defense with a highly instrumented test range that can support everything from long-range missile tests, short- and medium-range targets, and target intercepts by the Army and Navy," Bauer said. "Our radars also provide DoD and NASA with space object awareness and tracking, as well as target tracking as required. The Glory Trips are key tests to ensure the readiness of the country's ICBM fleet and airmen. We at RTS are proud of our ability to provide the support they need to evaluate that readiness and provide the data they need."

Bauer said the RTS team works very well together and as part of the Mission Operations Division, they are responsible for ensuring the entire RTS team is on the same page and focused on accomplishing the mission for the customer.

"We are in constant communication during the mission prep, launch and splash down," Bauer said. "The team at RTS and here in Huntsville are extremely professional and motivated to provide the customer with the best test experience possible. Missile launch and re-entry vehicle splash down are hopefully the only excitement we have. A good mission means that everything on the test went well and according to the plan."

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