Radar ship gears up for next deployment

From the bridge of the towering Sea-based X-Band Radar, the ship’s captain has a commanding view of Pearl Harbor and the entire south shore of Oahu.

There’s an even better view from the SBX-1 flight deck up above.

“It’s the best view in Hawaii,” said SBX product manager Bob Dees, standing on the vessel’s helipad perched high over the water. “On the Fourth of July, we came up and watched the fireworks.”

On Wednesday, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy opened up the oddly futuristic “golf ball” ship to a rare media tour as the radar mounted on a semi-submersible platform continues to undergo maintenance, repairs and upgrades following a record 582-day deployment in the Pacific.

During its latest mission, the $2 billion radar traveled 6,140 nautical miles and spent most of its time in the vicinity of Midway Atoll largely watching out for North Korean missiles.

>> Photo Gallery: Tour of Sea-based X-Band Radar

As designed, the ship’s radar tracks the flight characteristics of incoming ballistic missiles and discriminates between hostile missile warheads and any countermeasures.

The ship was originally manufactured as an ocean-going oil rig and designed for the oil industry. But in 2003 it became available for conversion into a new mobile element of the Missile Defense Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defense System, and Honolulu has been its unofficial home port since 2006.

The main deck sits higher than an aircraft carrier and measures 250 feet from the ocean to the top of the radar dome.

“It’s a funny looking ship, but it is a ship,” said Dees, a former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer who has worked on the golf ball for 17 years.

To board the massive vessel, one has to climb a 13-story scaffolding staircase with 156 steps.

Once on the main deck, which is larger than a football field, it can seem like any other Navy ship. There are quarters for a crew of 100, work spaces, mess hall and even a barbecue area. A spacious bridge is the nerve center for controlling the vessel that can travel 150 nautical miles a day.

Up above is a different story. The star of the show — the otherworldly golf ball-shaped radar dome — sits at the center of the platform and is surrounded by four smaller satellite communication domes.

Inside the large dome is the SBX radar, shimmering and golden, mounted on an octagonal plate that can swivel in all directions. More than 45,000 transmit/receive modules are affixed to the plate, forming a radar beam capable of seeing an object the size of a baseball at a distance of over 2,500 miles.

When viewed from inside the radome, the X-band radar appears like a glorious piece of modern public art, enveloped by a golden parachute of a dome measuring 103 feet high and 120 feet in diameter.

For the record, it is the largest and most sophisticated phased array electro-mechanically steered X-band radar in the world, according to the Missile Defense Agency.

As of March 2019, SBX-1 traveled nearly 100,000 nautical miles in support of 72 flight and ground tests and operational missions.

The latest mission for a rotating crew of 70 or so contract workers from all across the country was the longest.

“To be underway for 582 days, away from their families, the sacrifice, dedication and focus on their work, I’m just amazed by what this team does every day,” said U.S. Army Col. Ellsworth K. “Kenny” Johnson, X-band Radar program manager.

But the future of the SBX-1 in Hawaii is up in the air. While there are no plans to move the radar ship to the Atlantic as of now, the Missile Defense Agency completed a study for operating it from the East Coast in 2018 in response to the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act.

Whether it is relocated or not, maintenance and repairs are conducted by competitive bid, and there’s no guarantee a Hawaii- based company will be awarded the next contract.

“Next time we come into port, I can’t say it definitely will be Hawaii. But we do enjoy the hospitality of Hawaii, and the base and support we get from the Hawaii shipyard,” Dees said.