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Missile Site Radar (MSR)

The NIKE X system had two phased array radars, the very large Multifunction Array Radar (March) for long-range detection, acquisition and discrimination, and the short-range Missile Site Radar (MSR) for guiding the SPRINT and ZEUS interceptors (the ZEUS interceptor was the only carryover from the NIKE ZEUS).

Safeguard employed long range and short range interceptor missiles. To complement these missiles, the Army developed new radars. The perimeter acquisition radar (PAR), a phased array radar located at Concrete, North Dakota, detected incoming missiles and provided targeting data. The multifunction array radar, tested at WSMR in July 1964, proved inadequate and the Army replaced it with the improved missile site radar (MSR). The new radar first operated at KMR in September 1968. Located at the missile site, the MSR could discriminate targets at 700 miles and provided terminal phase guidance and targeting information for Spartan and Sprint. The sensitivity and selectivity of the receiver enabled the detection and discrimination of targets within a background of electrical noise and debris and could detect targets of small cross section at ranges of several hundred miles.

The Missile Site Radar (MSR) performed atmospheric target tracking and defensive missile guidance. The radar used phased array technology to form and steer radar beams at electronic speeds under software control. A computer designed by Bell Laboratories capable of multiprocessing as many as 10 processors in parallel ran the software. A table driven operating system achieved efficient parallel performance by capitalizing on the predictable sequence of tasks the Safeguard system used to find, track, and intercept enemy reentry vehicles (RVs).

The pyramid shaped MSR served many functions to include surveillance and limited discrimination, re-entry target tracking, and track and command guidance to the SPRINT and SPARTAN missiles. On September 28, 1975, the Stanley R. Mickelsen SAFEGUARD Complex reached full operating capability with the deployment of 30 SPARTAN and 70 SPRINT missiles. The Missile Site Radar was a major element of the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, the United States' only operational anti-ballistic missile defense system.

Congress ordered the deactivation of the Safeguard Complex. It closed in February 1976 after being operational for less than four months. DoD itself drove the final nail in SAFEGUARD's coffin. During proceedings of the House, it was discovered that DoD had been planning for two years to inactivate the North Dakota site on July 1, 1976. The House voted against SAFEGUARD, and the Senate voted several times on different proposals. Finally, in November 1975, the Senate passed a bill that would allow operation and testing of the site's perimeter acquisition radar but would close down the remainder of SAFEGUARD. In February 1976, the Army began carrying out the directions of Congress. Specifically, site technicians stopped the radiation of power from the Missile Site Radar and began removing warheads and missiles from their launching cells.