FOR  OFFICIAL  USE  ONLY 
MEETING  THE  CHALLENGE: 
ESD  AND  THE  COBRA  DANE  CONSTRUCTION  EFFORT 
ON  SHEMYA  ISLAND 
BY 
DR.  E.  MICHAEL  DEL  PAPA 
HISTORY  OFFICE 
3245th  AIR  BASE  GROUP 
HANSCOM  AIR  FORCE  BASE 
BEDFORD,  MASSACHUSETTS 
NOT  FOR  PUBLIC  RELEASE  IN 
ACCORDANCE  WITH  PARA  18  (0, 
AFR  200-9  (C),  20  JAN  78. 
FOR  OFFICAL  USE  ONLY 
J
MEETING  THE  CHALLENGE: 
ESD  AND  THE  COBRA  DANE  CONSTRICTION  EFFORT 
ON  SEEMSl  ISLAND 
b/ 
Dr.  E.  'lichael  Del  Papa 
October  1979 
Atroroved 
DBERT  T.   MARSH 
Lieutenant  General,  USAF 
Ccrrnander 
HISTORY  OFFICE 
324 5TH  MR  BASE  GROUP 
HAilSCCM  MR  FORCE  RASE 
BEDFORD,   MASSACHUSETTS
TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 
LIST  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS   <IU 
COBRA  DANE  CHRONOLOGY   
lv 
Introduction     .....  1 
Background  and  Objectives  of  COBRA  DANE  Program     .  .  1 
System  Description  and  Location     2 
Challenges  Posed  by  COBRA  DANE  Program  ...     3 
Shemya  Island     
Site  Survey   
Work  Camp   
COBRA  DANE  Request  for  Proposal  (RFP)     6 
COBRA  DANE  Contract  Award   
Construction  of  Radar  Facility  and  PMEL  Building      8 
Design  Reviews   
Shemya  AFB  Power  Plant     10 
COBRA  DANE  Fire  Protection  System  ,   
Construction  of  Radar  Facility  and  PMEL  Building     13 
Erection  of  Calibration  Tower  on  Alaid  Island      17 
Installation  and  Checkout  of  a  Portion  of  the  COBRA  DANE  Array  and 
Transmitter  Subsystems     21 
COBRA  DANE  Power  Divider  Fire   
First  Shemya  Island  Earthquake   
.   
Second  Shemya  Island  Earthquake      24 
COBRA  DANE  Power  Problem   
Installation  of  COBRA  DANE  Array  Plates      26 
COBRA  DANE  Software  Development  Problems   .   
Issuance  of  RFP  for  COBRA  DANE  Operations  and  Maintenance  (0&M) 
Contract   
COBRA  DANE  Power  Supply  Problem   
COBRA  DANE  Computer  Core  Memory  Problem   
Change  to  COBRA  DANE  Initial  Operational  Capability  (IOC)  Date   .   33 
Award  of  COBRA  DANE  0&M  Contract   
First  Detection  and  Track  of  a  Soviet  Missile  Launch  by  COBRA  Dane  33 
C3BRA  DANE  System  Testing   
ESD  Acceptance  of  COBRA  DANE  from  Raytheon   
Turnover /Transition  of  COBRA  DANE  from  ESD  to  ADCOM  and  AFLC   .  .   36 
System  Description   
Conclusion   
FOOTNOTES     .....   41 
-u.
LIST  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS 
Foundation  for  six-story  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  and  one-story  PMEL 
building   
•   
•   ' 
Cooper-Bessemer  diesel  generator     11 
Fire  pump  house  and  water  tank  at  Shemya  AFB    14 
Work  completed  on  outer  shell  of  radar  facility  ar.d  PMEL  building  16 
COOL  BARGE  arrival  at  Shemya  dock    18 
65-foot  high  calibration  tower  on  Alaid  Island     20 
COOL  BARGE  being  unloaded  at  Shemya  dock    22 
Completed  COBRA  DANE  system  on  Shemya  Island    34 
Air  Force  specialist  traces  missile  flight  on  control  data  grid  dis- 
play within  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  complex   
Close-up  view  of  COBRA  DANE's  clocklike  face  containing  34,768  sen- 
sors attached  to  96  antenna  plates   
AAA.
COBRA  DANE  CHRONOLOGY 
1  Feb  72     Hq  USAF  issued  a  program  management  directive  (PMD  No. 
I-Y-2-0Ql-(l)r31015F)  designating  Air  Force  Systems 
Command  (AFSC)  as  implementing  command  for  the  acquisi- 
tion and  deployment  of  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  to  be  oper- 
ated at  Shemya  AFB  by  the  Aerospace  Defense  Command 
(ADC). 
May  72     ESD  provided  the  Alaskan  Air  Command  (AAC)  with  a  mili- 
tary interdepartmental  purchase  request  (MIPR)  in  the 
amount  of  $45,500  to  cover  the  costs  of  dismantling  a 
200~man  Atomic  Energy  Commission  (AEC)  work  camp,  trans- 
porting it  from  Amchitka  Island,  and  reassembling  it  on 
Shemya . 
28  Jun  72     ESD  conducted  a  pre-solicitation  briefing  on  the  COBRA 
DANE  program  attended  by  100  representatives  from  29 
different  companies. 
28  Oct  72     ESD  issued  the  COBRA  DANE  request  for  proposal  (RFP) . 
11  Jan  73     Contractor  proposals  for  the  COBRA  DANE  program  were 
submitted  to  ESD.' 
6  Jun  73     ESD  announced  the  award  of  a  fixed  price  incentive  firm 
(FPIF)  contract  for  the  COBRA  DANE  system  to  the  Ray- 
theon Company  of  Wayland,  Massachusetts. 
Aug  73  Construction  began  on  the  foundation  for  the  six-story 
COBRA  DANE  radar  structure  and  attached  one-story  Pre- 
cision Measurement  Equipment  Laboratory  (FMEL) . 
5  Sep  73     The  first  COOL  BARGE  shipment  of  600  tons  of  construc- 
tion materials  arrived  at  Shemya. 
11- 
14  Sep  73     Preliminary  design  review  (PDR)  of  the  COBRA  DANE  fa- 
cility was  completed. 
17  Sep  73  The  first  Military  Airlift  Command  (MAC)  airlift  of 
construction  material,  six  tons  of  foundation  rein- 
forcement rods,  arrived  at  Shemya. 
9- 
12  Occ  73     PDR  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system  was  completed. 
Oct  73  Construction  work  was  completed  on  the  foundation  for 
the  six-storv  COBRA  DANE  radar  structure  and  attached 
one-story  PMEL  building. 
iv
11- 
14  Dec 73 
12- 
19  Feb 74 
16  May 74 
Oct  73     A  special  survey  was  conducted  by  AAC,  ADC,  and  ESD  to 
determine  if  the  Shemya  AFB  power  plant  was  adequate  to 
support  the  COBRA  DANE  program.   Results  indicated  that 
the  power  plant  would  be  insufficient  for  program  sup- 
port during  the  COBRA  DANE  test  and  evaluation  period 
scheduled  to  commence  in  July  1975. 
Critical  design  review  (CDR)  of  the  COBRA  DANE  facility 
was  satisfactorily  completed. 
CDR  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system  was  successfully  completed. 
Unloading  of  a  COOL  BARGE  containing  four  Cooper-Besse- 
mer generators  and  ancillary  equipment  from  the  United 
States  Army's  SAFEGUARD  Anti-Ballistic  Missile  (ABM) 
program  was  completed.   This  equipment  would  be  employed 
in  a  $6.1  million  program  to  update  the  Shemya  AFB  power 
plant . 
22  May  74     Work  began  on  the  erection  of  the  structural  steel 
framework  for  both  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  and  at- 
tached PMEL  building. 
24  May  74     Approximately  30  truck  loads  of  SAFEGUARD  phased  array 
radar  (PAR)  transmitter  components  had  been  shipped  from 
General  Electric  Company  (GE) ,  Syracuse,  New  York,  to 
Raytheon,  where  the  equipment  would  be  used  by  the  COBRA 
DANE  prime  contractor  as  government-furnished  equipment 
(GFE) . 
25- 
29  May  74     A  soil  sampling  and  site  survey  of  Alaid  Island  was  suc- 
cessfully completed. 
17  Jun  74     ESD  received  word  that  the  10-foot  diameter,  plastic, 
dish  reflector  that  would  be  mounted  on  the  top  of  the 
65-foot  high  calibration  tower  on  Alaid  Island  had  been 
completely  destroyed  by  fire  while  being  transported  by 
truck  to  Seattle  for  COOL  BARGE  shipment  to  Shemya. 
Aug  74     Work  was  completed  on  the  outer  steel  shell  of  both  the 
COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  and  PMEL  building. 
16  Sep  74     A  C-5A  special  assignment  airlift  mission  (SAAM),  car- 
rying 65  tons  of  required  construction  items,  landed  at 
Shemya. 
19  Sep  74     Work  began  on  the  erection  of  the  calibration  tower  on 
Alaid  Island.
25  Sep  74     Construction  of  the  calibration  tower  on  Alaid  Island 
was  completed,  four  days  ahead  of  schedule. 
5  Nov  74     Work  was  completed  on  the  enclosure  of  the  radar  facil- 
ity array  face  with  fire  retardant  plywood. 
19  Jan  75     A  fire  completely  destroyed  45  of  the  99  required  8;1 
power  dividers  used  in  the  COBRA  DANE  array  subsystem. 
1  Feb  75     Shemya  Island  was  struck  by  an  earthquake  which  regis- 
tered 7.5  on  the  Richter  scale  and  whose  epicenter  was 
located  50  miles  north-northwest  of  the  island  at 
53.053  North,  173.619  East. 
5  Feb  75     ESD  issued  a  change. order  to  the  COBRA  DANE  prime  con- 
tract to  accelerate  delivery  of  replacements  for  the 
45  8:1  power  dividers  destroyed  by  fire. 
8  Feb  75     Shemya  Island  was  hit  by  a  second  earthquake  that  reg- 
istered 5.8  on  the  Richter  scale. 
15  Feb  75     A  MAC  survey  team  completed  its  evaluation  of  the  abil- 
ity of  the  earthquake-damaged  Shemya  runway  to  support 
C-141  and  C-5A  aircraft. 
20  Feb  75     MAC  reinstated  the  SAAM  missions  for  transporting  COBRA 
DANE  prime  mission  equipment  from  Hanscom  AFB  to  Shemya. 
22  Feb  75     AAC  notified  both  Headquarters  USAF  and  ESD  of  its  ina- 
bility to  supply  sufficient  power  to  COBRA  DANE  for 
equipment  installation  and  checkout. 
16  May  75     All  power  equipment  for  COBRA  DANE  interim  power  was  in- 
stalled and  connected,  and  feeder  lines  had  been  in- 
stalled and  connected  to  both  the  transformers  and  the 
Raytheon  switchgear. 
May  75     Work  began  on  the  removal  of  the  fire  retardant  plywood 
from  the  face  of  the  COBRA  DAME  radar  facility  and  the 
installation  of  array  plates. 
20  Jun  75     At  the  request  of  Lieutenant  General  Wilbur  L.  Creech, 
ESD  Commander,  the  COBRA  DANE  system  program  office  de- 
veloped an  assessment  of  the  most  pessimistic  schedule 
for  COBRA  DANE  initial  operational  capability  (IOC) . 
18  Aug  75     A  team  comprised  of  software  experts  from  ESD,  Aero- 
space Defense  Command  (ADCOM) ,  RADC,  and  Lincoln  Labor- 
atory, inaugurated  a  complete  Air  Force  assessment  of 
the  problems  affecting  COBRA  DANE  software  development 
and  their  impact,  if  any,  on  Che  program's  scheduled 
milestones. 
vi
10  Sep  75     Work  was  completed  on  the  Air  Force  assessment  of  the 
problems  affecting  COBRA  DANE  software  development  and 
their  impact,  if  any,  on  the  program *s  scheduled  mile- 
stones. 
10  Nov  75    A  meeting  was  held  at  AAC  to  coordinate  the  start  of 
COBRA  DANE  radio  frequency  (RF)  radiation. 
14  Nov  75     The  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  at  Shemya  radiated  for 
the  first  time.  Total  radiation  time  vras  approximately 
one  and  one-half  hours  with  power  emanating  from  just 
one  of  the  96  high  power  transmitter  tubes. 
I  Dec  75     ESD  issued  to  Raytheon  the  sole  source  RFP  for  opera- 
tion, maintenance,  and  logistics  support  of  the  COBRA 
DANE  radar  for  the  first  full  year  following  IOC. 
'  4  Dec  75     The  last  MAC  SAAM  of  COBRA  DANE  prime  mission  equip- 
ment was  completed  when  a  C-141  aircraft  delivered  the 
COBRA  DANE  Cyber  74-18  computer  to  Shemya. 
27  Jan  76     Preliminary  qualification  testing  (POT)  began  for  the 
mission  computer  program  and  the  simulation  computer 
program.  This  PQT  was  hampered  by  the  fact  that  the 
131,000-word  core  memory  of  the  Cyber  74-18  computer 
was  inadequate  to  meet  core  memory  requirements. 
12  Apr  76     Prime  power  was  made  available  to  COBRA  DANE  by  using 
two  of  the  four  Cooper-Bessemer  generators. 
25  Apr  76     The  bearings  within  the  two  Cooper-Bessemer  generators 
turbo-chargers  burned  out,  resulting  in  a  complete 
loss  of  power. 
13  Jun  76     Headquarters  USAF  approved  the  AFSC  recommendation  that 
a  surplus  Cyber  74  computer  be  assigned  to  the  COBRA 
DANE  program  to  solve  the  computer  core  memory  problem. 
30  Jun  76     ESD  awarded  Raytheon  a  $10,375,000  operations  and  main- 
tenance (0&M)  contract  for  COBRA  DANE. 
Jun  76     ESD  and  Raytheon  negotiated  an  engineering  change  Dro- 
posal  (ECP)  to  the  prime  contract  which  changed  the 
projected  IOC  date  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system  from  6 
March  to  31  October  1976. 
,   28  Jul  76     For  the  first  time,  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  detected  and 
y  tracked  a  Soviet  missile  launch. 
II  Sep  76     A  second  COBRA  DANE  computer,  a  Cyber  74-14,  was 
shipped  to  Shemya. 
VAA.
Sep  76     ESD  and  Raytheon  negotiated  an  ECP  to  the  prime  con- 
tract which  changed  the  COBRA  DANE  IOC  date  from  31  Oc- 
tober 1976  to  15  January  1977. 
28  Oct  76     System  testing  of  COBRA  DANE  commenced  with  power  being 
supplied  by  the  upgraded  AAC  power  plant  at  Shemya. 
15  Nov  76     The  second  COBRA  DANE  computer,  a  Cyber  74-14,  was  put 
into  operation  and  successfully  alleviated  the  core 
memory  problem. 
30  Nov  76     COBRA  DANE  system  performance  testing,  which  included 
subsystem  performance  logistical  review,  SPACETRACK  and 
early  warning  capability,  was  completed. 
COBRA  DANE  reliability/maintainability/availability 
(R/M/A)  demonstration  carried  out. 
Raytheon  commenced  full-time  O&M  of  the  COBRA  DANE  sys- 
tem. 
COBRA  DANE  successfully  commenced  operations,  collect- 
ing intelligence  information  and  SPACETRACK  data  for 
ADCOM' s  SPACETRACK  network. 
Dec  76     ESD  accepted  the  COBRA  DANE  system  from  Raytheon  with 
noted  deficiencies  scheduled  to  be  corrected  by  28  Feb- 
ruary 1977. 
25- 
27  Jan  77     Planning  for  turnover/transition  of  the  COBRA  DANE  sys- 
tem commenced  between  ESD  and  ADCOM. 
13  Jul  77     Actual  turnover/transition  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system 
took  place  when  representatives  from  ADCOM,  AFLC,  and 
ESD  signed  the  COBRA  DANE  System  Turnover  Certificate. 
13  Jul  77     COBRA  DANE  achieved  IOC  with  the  signing  of  the  COBRA 
DANE  System  Turnover  Certificate. 
1  Oct  77     Program  Management  Responsibility  Transfer  (PMRT)  of 
the  COBRA  DANE  radar  system  from  ESD  to  the  Sacramento 
Air  Logistics  Center  (SM-ALC)  of  AFLC  for  logistics 
support  was  accomplished. 
1- 
15  Dec 76 
17  Dec 76 
17  Dec 76 
VCi.i
Introduction 
The  Electronic  Systems  Division  (ESD)  of  Air  Force  Systems 
Command  (AFSC) ,  with  headquarters  at  Hanscom  AFB,  Bedford,  Massa- 
chusetts, is  responsible  for  managing  the  acquisition  of  command, 
control,  and  communications  (C  )  systems  for  the  Air  Force  as  well 
as  selective  electronic  systems  for  other  military  services  and 
Department  of  Defense  (DOD)  agencies. 
In  addition  to  C  systems,  ESD's  acquisition  management  re- 
sponsibilities also  encompass  navigation  and  surveillance  systems, 
weather  observing  and  forecasting  systems,  electronic  physical  se- 
surity  surveillance  and  intrusion  detection  systems,  air  traffic 
control  and  landing  systems,  and  computer-based  information  sys- 
terns.   Recently,  ESD  successfully  completed  one  of  its  most  diffi- 
cult and  challenging  acquisition  efforts.  This  action  involved 
the  COBRA  DANE  program  —  a  single-faced,  phased  array  radar  sys- 
tem located  on  Shemya  Island,  Alaska. 
Background  and  Objectives  of  COBRA  DANE  Program 
On  1  February  1972,  Headquarters  USAF  issued  a  program  manage- 
ment directive  (PMD  No.  I-Y-2-001-(l)-31015F)  designating  Air  Force 
Systems  Command  as  implementing  command  for  the  "acquisition  and 
deployment  of  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  to  be  operated  at  Shemya  AFB  by 
ADC  [Aerospace  Defense  Command].  ..."   The  primary  purpose  of 
the  COBRA  DANE  radar  would  be: 
to  acquire  precise  radar  metric  and  signature  data  on  devel- 
oping Soviet  ballistic  missile  weapon  systems  for  weapon  sys- 
tem characteristics  determination.   The  Soviet  developmental 
test  to  Kamchatka  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  provide  the  U.S.  the 
primary  source  for  collection  of  this  data  early  in  the  So- 
viet developmental  programs.   The  current  Shemya  radar  system
is  not  adequate  to  collect  the  required  data  on  the  current 
Soviet  multiple  R/V  [reentry  vehicle]  systems  and  can  be  ex- 
pected to  be  more  inadequate  when  the  tests  of  the  new  Soviet 
systems  (currently  under  preparation)  commence.  Consequently, 
there  is  a  compelling  need  now  for  the  COBRA  DANE  capability 
and  every  effort  should  be  made  to  expedite  acquisition. 
Mr.  Thomas  P.  O'Mahony,  Deputy  System  Program  Director  of  the 
COBRA  DANE  System  Program  Office  (SPO)  at  ESD,  provided  a  more  suc- 
cinct and  lucid  explanation  of  the  main  objective  of  the  COBRA  DANE 
program  when  he  stated  that  "It  was  necessary.  .  .to  have  some  mea- 
sure of  what  [the  Soviets]  were  doing  so  our  defense  planners  would 
know  where  we  were  from  an  intelligence  viewpoint." 
While  primarily  oriented  towards  the  collection  of  intelli- 
gence data  on  Soviet  intercontinental  and  sea-launched  ballistic 
missile  (ICBM/SLBM)  systems,  COBRA  DANE  was  also  earmarked  for  such 
corollary  missions  as  early  warning  and  SPACETRACK.   The  early- 
warning  mission  would  involve  the  detection  and  tracking  of  Soviet 
ICBMs/SLBMs  and  the  reporting,  in  near-real  time  (NRT) ,  on  those 
missiles  for  which  impact  in  the  continental  United  States  (CONUS) 
was  predicted.  The  data  derived  from  the  early  warning  mission  of 
COBRA  DANE  would  include  launch  and  impact  point  information  that 
would  be  employed  in  attack  assessment.   With  regard  to  the  SPACE- 
TRACK  mission,  the  installation  and  operation  of  COBRA  DANE  on 
Shemya  would  greatly  enhance  the  SPACETRACK  data  on  Soviet  satel- 
lite launches  and  space  programs  currently  provided  by  the  AN/FPS- 
Q 
17-79  and  80  detection  and  tracking  radars  situated  on  the  island. 
System  Description  and  Location 
Under  plans  developed  by  ESD,  the  COBRA  DANE  system  would  con- 
sist of  an  AN/FPS-108  radar  facility  measuring  87  by  107  feet  at
its  base  and  approximately  six  stories  or  100  feet  in  height,  plus 
an  attached  one-story  Precision  Measurement  Equipment  Laboratory 
(PMEL)  measuring  87  feet  square.   Both  structures  would  be  built 
on  a  230-foot-high  bluff  located  on  the  northwestern  section  of 
Shemya  Island  overlooking  the  Bering  Sea.    The  selection  of  Shemya 
as  the  site  for  COBRA  DANE  was  an  obvious  one.  The  island  is  situ- 
ated 480  nautical  miles  from  Kamchatka  Peninsula  and  the  surrounding 
ocean  area,  the  primary  impact  area  for  practically  all  Soviet  mis- 
sile tests.  From  Shemya,  COBRA  DANE  would  be  able  to  obtain  data  on 
missile  trajectories,  separation  velocities,  payload  maneuvers,  and 
signature  data  on  reentry  vehicles  from  missiles  fired  from  both  the 
Russian  land  mass  and  the  Soviet's  primary  SLBM  launch  site. 
Challenges  Posed  by  COBRA  DANE  Program 
The  nature  of  the  COBRA  DANE  program  acquisition  concept, 
coupled  with  the  selection  of  Shemya  Island  as  the  location  for  the 
radar  system,  posed  enormous  challenges  to  the  hard  work,  dedica- 
tion, and  ingenuity  of  ESD  personnel.   To  begin  with,  the  program 
acquisition  concept  developed  for  COBRA  DANE  called  for  the  "turn- 
key" installation  (with  the  prime  contractor  totally  responsible 
for  the  radar  and  the  facility  housing  it)  of  a  fully  operational 
system  33  months  after  the  award  of  the  system  acquisition  contract, 
scheduled  to  be  awarded  during  the  third  quarter  of  fiscal  year 
(FY)  1973  (January-March  1973). U     Of  even  greater  importance,  the 
selection  of  Shemya  as  the  site  for  COBRA  DANE  represented  an  engi- 
neering and  logistical  nightmare,  since  climatic  conditions  on  the 
island  imposed  severe  restraints  on  such  vital  activities  as  supply,
support,  logistics,  maintenance,,  communications,  transportation,  and 
on-site  construction. 
Shetnya  Island 
Shemya  Island,  described  by  one  individual  as  a  two-  by  four- 
mile  "speck  of  desolation,"  is  situated  near  the  western  tip  of  the 
Aleutian  Island  chain,  approximately  500  miles  across  the  Bering  Sea 
from  the  Russian  eastern  seaboard.    The  island,  sometimes  referred 
to  as  the  "Black  Pearl  of  the  Pacific,"  but  more  commonly  known  as 
the  "Land  of  Horizontal  Snow,"  is  a  meteorological  disaster  area. 
Indeed,  bad  weather  and  Shemya  Island  are  nearly  synonymous.   The 
island  receives  an  abnormally  large  amount  of  precipitation,  with 
three  out  of  every  five  days  marked  by  either  ram  or  wet  snow. 
The  only  surprising  climatic  condition  associated  with  Shemya, 
if  one  can  use  that  phrase,  is  its  year-round  temperature  range, 
which  fluctuates  little  from  a  low  of  28  degrees  in  the  dead  of  win- 
ter to  a  high  of  53  degrees  in  the  heart  of  summer.   This  situation 
is  the  result  of  the  meeting  of  warm  tropical  water  from  the  south 
with  cold  Siberian  air  from  the  north.   While  this  phenomenon  is  re- 
sponsible for  both  the  unusual  temperature  range  and  ice-free  water 
renditions  surrounding  Sher.ya,  it  also  creates  a  year-rcun'.t  turult 
of  high  winds  and  thick  fog.   Gale-force  "williwaws ,"  sometimes 
reaching  speeds  of  160  mph,  combine  with  wet  snow  during  the  winter 
months  to  lend  credence  to  Shemya's  reputation  as  the  "Land  of  Hori- 
zontal Snow."17   As  one  observer  described  conditions  on  Shemya: 
"There  are  only  eight  to  10  clear  days  a  year,  but  there  is  never  a 
serene  or  dry  season."    Because  of  the  island's  meteorological
makeup,  outside  construction  activity  is  confined  to  a  six-month 
period  from  May  to  October. 
Under  the  terms  of  the  COBRA  DANE  PMD,  and  in  accordance  with 
plans  developed  by  ESD,  construction  of  the  AN/FPS-108  radar  system 
on  Shemya  would  be  accomplished  under  both  the  Military  Construction 
Program  (MCP)  and  the  prime  contract.   Responsibility  for  the  design 
and  construction  of  the  large  six-story  facility  housing  the  radar 
system  and  the  one-story  PMEL  building  would  rest  with  the  prime 
contractor.   All  other  on-site  support  improvement  actions  necessary 
to  activate  the  system,  such  as  grading,  power,  and  utilities,  would 
be  an  MCP  responsibility. 
Site  Survey 
In  the  late  winter  and  early  spring  of  1972,  ESD  undertook  action 
to  complete  the  PMD-directed  COBRA  DANE  site  survey  by  1  April.   ESD 
representatives,  accompanied  by  individuals  from  the  Rome  Air  Devel- 
opment Center  (RADC) ,  held  a  meeting  with  Alaskan  Air  Command  (AAC) 
personnel  at  Elmendorf  AFB,  Alaska.   Following  this  meeting,  ESD, 
RADC,  AAC,  ADC,  and  Air  Force  Communications  Service  (AFCS)  person- 
nel proceeded  to  Shemya  AFB  where  contact  was  made  with  all  local 
units  and  discussions  were  completed  on  such  topics  as  transporta- 
tion, housing,  messing,  siting,  radio  frequency  interference  (RF1) , 
and  logistics  support.   While  this  team  was  visiting  Shemya,  another 
group  of  personnel  remained  at  AAC  Headquarters  to  work  with  AAC 
representatives  in  further  identifying  both  required  and  available 
support.   This  latter  group  arrived  at  a  tentative  host-tenant  agree- 
?1 
ment  
tor  support  
of  COBRA  
DANE.
At  Shemya,  a  specific  site  for  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  was  chosen 
which  was  acceptable  to  AAC,  as  well  as  ESD,  RADC,  and  ADC.   Fol- 
lowing selection  of  the  site,  a  successful  site  survey  was  completed. 
No  RFI  or  electromagnetic  compatibility  (EMC)  problems  were  antici- 
pated with  the  selected  COBRA  DANE  site  since  this  subject  was  cov- 
ered  in  great  detail  during  the  site  visit. 
Work  Camp 
While  ESD  personnel  were  at  Shemya,  they  discovered  that  there 
were  no  quarters  available  on  the  island  for  the  additional  contrac- 
tor personnel  required  during  the  construction  and  installation 
phase  of  the  COBRA  DANE  program.   As  a  potential  solution  to  this 
problem,  AAC  personnel  informed  the  COBRA  DANE  site  survey  team,  that 
the  Atomic  Energy  Commission  (AEC)  possessed  a  complete  200-man  work 
camp  on  Amchitka  Island,  including  living,  messing,  and  recreation 
facilities,  that  was  available  for  use  on  the  COBRA  DANE  program. 
In  May  1972,  ESD  provided  AAC  with  a  military  interdepartmental  pur- 
chase request  (MIPR)  in  the  amount  of  $45 s 500  to  cover  the  costs  of 
dismantling  the  work  camp,  transporting  it  from  Amchitka,  and  reas- 
sembling  it  on  Shemya. 
COBRA  DANE  Request  for  Proposal  (RFP) 
With  the  successful  completion  of  these  preliminary  prepara- 
tions, attention  now  focused  on  the  issuance  of  the  COBRA  DANE  re- 
quest for  proposal  (RFP)  and  award  of  the  prime  contract.   On  28 
June  1972,  a  pre-solicitation  briefing  on  the  COBRA  DANE  program  was 
conducted  at  ESD.   At  this  briefing,  attended  by  100  representatives 
fro™  29  different  companies,  a  summary  of  the  then  current  program 
status  and  retirements  was  reviewed  along  with  the  caveat  that  the
RFP  could  contain  changes  from  the  material  presented.   Following 
completion  of  the  briefing,  the  attendees  were  given  the  opportunity 
to  submit  written  questions.  Copies  of  these  questions,  along  with 
ESD's  responses,  were  provided  to  each  of  the  attending  companies. 
During  July  and  August  1972,  ESD  provided  potential  prime  con- 
tractors with  the  opportunity  to  visit  the  selected  site  of  the  pro- 
posed  COBRA  DANE  radar  on  Shemya  Island.    The  primary  objective  of 
these  site  visits  was  to  familiarize  the  contractors  with  some  of 
the  difficulties  they  could  expect  to  encounter  during  the  course  of 
the  COBRA  DANE  program  with  such  things  as  weather,  transportation, 
,  ,   ■   •  27 
and  logistics  support. 
Issuance  of  the  COBRA  DANE  RFP,  originally  scheduled  to  take 
place  in  August,  was  postponed  until  28  October  because  of  various 
changes  incorporated  into  the  document.  Once  the  RFP  was  issued,  a 
Proposal  Evaluation  Board  (PEB)  and  a  Source  Selection  Evaluation 
Board  (SSEB)  were  established.   Source  Selection  Authority  (SSA)  for 
the  COBRA  DANE  prime  contract  was  vested  in  the  ESD  Commander,  Major 
General  Albert  R.  Shiely,  Jr. 
COBRA  DANE  Contract  Award 
Contractor  proposals  for  the  COBRA  DANE  system  were  submitted 
co  ESD  on  11  January  1973.   Following  the  completion  of  both  the 
evaluation  and  negotiation  processes,  ESD  announced  on  6  June  the 
award  of  a  fixed  price  incentive  firm  (FPIF)  contract  for  the  COBRA 
DANE  system  to  the  Raytheon  Company  of  Wayland,  Massachusetts.    As 
major  subcontractors,  Raytheon  selected  the  System  Development  Cor- 
poration (SDC)  of  Santa  Monica,  California,  for  system  software;
Metcalf  and  Eddy,  Incorporated  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  for  archi- 
tectural engineering;  and  B.E.C.K.  Associates  of  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton,  for  facility  construction.    Acquisition  costs  fc  fhe  COBRA 
DANE  program  were  estimated  at  $66.4  million. 
Construction  of  Radar  Facility  and 
PMEL  Building  Foundations 
The  first  major  task  confronting  Raytheon  was  the  construction 
of  the  foundation  for  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  and  PMEL  build- 
ing. This  effort,  like  all  others  following  it,  was  made  more  com- 
plex by  the  fact  that  all  construction  material,  equipment,  and  per- 
sonnel had  to  be  transported  to  Shemya  from  Seattle  by  either  sea- 
lift  or  airlift.32  Airlift  was  the  responsibility  of  the  Military 
Airlift  Command  (MAC).    Responsibility  for  sealift  rested  with  the 
Military  Sealift  Command  (MSC)  under  COOL  BARGE,  the  program  which 
resupplies  remote  locations  throughout  Alaska,  using  seagoing  barges 
during  the  summer  months.  For  part  of  the  year,  these  remote  loca- 
11,-   34 
tions  are  accessible  only  by  air. 
The  first  COOL  BARGE  shipment  to  Shemya,  involving  approximate- 
ly 600  tons  of  construction  materials,  departed  Seattle  during  the 
first  week  of  August  1973.   At  approximately  the  same  time,  MAC  pre- 
pared  an  airlift  shipment  of  six  tons  of  foundation  materials. 
The  barge  shipment  reached  Shemya  on  5  September,  followed  twelve 
days  later,  on  17  September,  by  the  arrival  of  the  airlifted  rein- 
.   a     36 
torcement  rods. 
Construction  of  the  foundation  for  the  six-story  radar  struc- 
ture and  attached  one-story  PMEL  building,  begun  in  August,  was  com- 
pleted in  October  1973.   This  achievement  marked  the  first  major
Foundation  for  six-story  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility 
and  one-story  PMEL  building.
milestone  on  the  COBRA  DANE  program.    Once  the  foundation  was 
completed,  the  site  and  work  camp  were  placed  in  caretaker  status 
until  the  spring  of  1974  when  work  would  begin  on  construction  of 
the  radar  facility  and  PMEL  building. 
Design  Reviews 
During  the  period  September  1973-February  1974,  a  series  of  de- 
sign reviews  were  carried  out  on  the  COBRA  DANE  facility,  radar 
hardware,  and  software  systems.    Preliminary  design  review  (PDR) 
of  the  facility,  for  example,  was  completed  on  11-14  September, 
while  PDR  of  the  system  itself  was  held  on  9-12  October.    Critical 
design  review  (CDR)  of  the  COBRA  DANE  facility  was  satisfactorily 
conducted  on  11-14  December,  and  system  CDR  was  successfully  com- 
pleted  on  12-19  February  1974. 
Shemya  AFB  Power  Plant 
One  of  the  first  major  problems  to  affect  the  COBRA  DANE  program 
occurred  in  the  late  fall  and  early  winter  of  1973  and  involved  the 
power  plant  at  Shemya.   In  October,  a  special  survey  was  conducted 
by  AAC,  ADC,  and  ESD  personnel  to  determine  if  the  Shemya  AFB  power 
plant  was  adequate  to  support  the  COBRA  DANE  program.   Results  of  the 
survey  indicated  that  the  power  plant  would  be  insufficient  for  pro- 
gram support  during  the  COBRA  DANE  test  and  evaluation  period  sched- 
uled  to  commence  in  July  1975. 
With  the  assistance  of  both  Headquarters  AFSC  and  the  Air  Staff, 
ESD  was  able  to  secure  $6.1  million  in  FY  1974  MCP  emergency  funds 
for  updating  the  Shemya  power  plant.   This  update  program,  directed 
by  AAC,  would  use  four  Cooper-Bessemer  generators  and  ancillary
ll [rane Fels ae 7: a ie ae ye vet ee, COOPER-BESSEMER DIESEL ENGINE FEN Cooper-Bessemer Diesel Generator.
equipment  from  the  United  States  Army's  SAFEGUARD  Anti-Ballistic 
Missile  (ABM)  program.    Following  release  of  the  generators  by  the 
Army  in  early  March  1974,  they  were  shipped  to  Seattle,  arriving  on 
5  April.    Eleven  days  later,  on  16  April,  the  COOL  BARGE  departed 
Seattle  for  Shemya,  arriving  in  early  May.    Unloading  of  the  COOL 
BARGE  was  completed  on  16  May  1974.    While  all  of  this  was  taking 
place,  ESD  received  word  that  the  Air  Staff  had  given  its  approval 
to  the  design  and  construction  of  a  new  power  plant  for  Shemya. 
The  employment  of  surplus  SAFEGUARD  ABM  equipment  in  the  COBRA 
DANE  program,  such  as  the  Cooper-Bessemer  generators  obtained  for  use 
in  the  Shemya  power  plant  upgrade  project,  represented  a  policy  actively 
encouraged  and  heartily  endorsed  at  the  highest  levels  of  DOD.  On  14  March 
1974,  Deputy  Secretary  of  Defense  William  P.  Clements,  Jr.,  encouraged 
Secretary  of  the  Air  Force  John  L.  McLucas  "to  consider  utilizing  the 
residual  inventory  of  Malms trom  PAR  [SAFEGUARD  phased  array  radar] 
hardware,  particularly  major  assemblies,  for  any  appropriate  Air  Force 
-,48 
requirement. 
In  conformance  with  Deputy  Secretary  Clement's  policy,  the  COBRA  DANE 
SPO  at  ESD  prepared  an  engineering  change  proposal  (ECP)  to  the  Raytheon 
contract  covering  the  use  of  SAFEGUARD  PAR  transmitter  equipment  in  the 
radar  system.    By  24  May,  approximately  30  truck  loads  of  PAR  transmitter 
components  had  been  shipped  from  General  Electric  Company  (GE) ,  Syracuse, 
New  York,  to  Raytheon,  where  the  equipment  would  be  used  by  the  COBRA  DANE 
prime  contractor  as  government-furnished  equipment  (GFE) .    ESD  estimated 
the  cost  savings  to  the  government  resulting  from  this  action  at 
approximately  $260,000.
COBRA  DANE  Fire  Protection  System 
While  arrangements  were  being  completed  to  upgrade  the  Shemya 
power  plant,  ESD  planners  turned  their  attention  to  a  more  minor, 
but  nevertheless  important,  problem  affecting  the  proposed  COBRA 
DANE  fire  protection  system.   One  of  the  requirements  in  the  fire 
protection  system  specification  called  for  a  250,000-gallon  water 
tank.   By  April  1974,  it  had  become  obvious  to  ESD  personnel  that 
as  a  result  of  a  national  shortage  of  many  structural  steel  items,  a 
250,000-gallon  storage  tank  would  not  be  available  for  fire  protec- 
tion  when  needed  in  the  autumn  of  1974.    At  the  instigation  of 
ESD,  a  study  of  various  alternatives  was  instituted.  This  study  re- 
sulted in  the  location  of  a  500,000-gallon  tank  on  Shemya  which  was 
cleaned  and  modified  for  fire  protection  use. 
Construction  of  Radar  Facility 
and  PMEL  Building 
The  primary  objective  of  the  COBRA  DANE  construction  effort  for 
1974  was  the  completion  of  the  steel  framework  for  both  the  radar 
facility  and  PMEL  building  and  enclosure  of  the  facility  radar  face 
with  fire  retardant  plywood  by  October  1974,  before  the  onset  of 
winter.  Once  the  radar  structure  and  PMEL  building  were  enclosed, 
inside  construction  activity  and  installation  of  the  prime  mission 
equipment  could  be  carried  out  during  the  winter  months. 
On  16  April  1974,  a  special  COBRA  DANE  COOL  BARGE,  loaded  with 
approximately  6,000  tons  of  construction  material,  as  x^ell  as-  the 
four  Cooper-Bessemer  generators  and  ancillary  equipment  necessary 
for  the  Shemya  power  plant  upgrade  effort,  departed  Seattle  for
Fire  pump  hcmse  and  water  tank  at  Shemya  APB.
Shemya.    Following  its  arrival  at  the  island  dock,  the  COBRA  DANE 
COOL  BARGE  shipment  was  completely  unloaded  by  16  May. 
This  initial  1974  shipment  of  construction  material  was  short 
approximately  100  tons  of  structural  steel  which  remained  to  be  fab- 
ricated when  a  strike  halted  production  at  the  Isaacson  Structural 
Steel  plant  in  Seattle  from  3  April  to  21  May.    In  an  effort  to 
avoid  a  slip  in  the  construction  schedule,  Headquarters  AFSC  author- 
ized ESD  to  acquire  up  to   50  tons  of  structural  steel  on  a  priority 
basis.  The  Air  Staff  approved  this  approach,  and  on  18  April,  Ray- 
theon and  its  construction  contractor,  B.E.C.K.  Associates,  in- 
structed the  Portland  Wire  Company  to  fabricate  a  priority  order  of 
43.5  tons  of  structural  steel  which  was  eventually  airlifted  to 
Shemya  from  McChord  AFB,  Washington. 
Erection  of  the  structural  steel  commenced  on  22  May  and  by  the 
first  week  of  August,  the  contractor  had  completed  work  on  the  outer 
steel  shell  of  both  the  radar  facility  and  the  PMEL  building  and  was 
laying  concrete  floors  in  both  structures.    While  this  was  going 
on,  the  balance  of  the  construction  and  building  material  necessary 
for  the  completion  of  the  COBRA  DANE  facility,  approximately  500  tons, 
was  being  collected  at  the  Seattle  staging  area  for  delivery  to  Shemya 
via  the  3  September  COOL  BARGE  shipment. 
During  the  first  week  of  September,  ESD  was  notified  that  the 
COOL  BARGE  shipment  scheduled  to  depart  for  Shemya  on  3  September 
would  be  delayed  from  nine  to  twelve  days.  To  prevent  any  possible 
schedule  slip  resulting  from  the  delay  in  the  arrival  of  the  COOL 
BARGE  shipment,  a  C-5A  special  assignment  airlift  mission  (SAAM)  was
"'-3-D  DAY 
9/19/74 
CE  42263 
Work  completed  on  outer  steel  shell  of 
radar  facility  and  PMEL  building.
arranged.    This  special  airlift  mission,  carrying  65  tons  of  re- 
quired  construction  items,  landed  at  Shemya  on  16  September. 
Two  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  C-5A  mission  at  Shemya,  on  18 
September,  the  COOL  BARGE  departed  from  Seattle  laden  with  2,170  tons 
of  cargo.    Arriving  at  Shemya  one  month  later  on  18  October,  the 
COOL  BARGE  ran  into  a  situation  of  near  crisis  proportions  when  ad- 
verse weather  conditions  prevented  it  from  successfully  docking  until 
28  October.    The  crisis  situation  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  COOL 
BARGE  carried  the  fire  retardant  plywood  needed  to  enclose  the  array 
face  of  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility.  Once  docking  was  finally  ef- 
fected on  28  October,  the  additional  stevedore  personnel  flown  in 
earlier  by  the  COOL  BARGE  contractor  facilitated  the  completion  of 
cargo  unloading  by  31  October.    The  delay  in  receiving  the  fire  re- 
tardant plywood  on  board  the  barge,  however,  necessitated  the  special 
airlift  of  additional  plywood.   On  25  October,  this  additional  ply- 
wood was  airlifted  from  McChord  AFB,  arriving  at  Shemya  on  the  fol- 
lowing  day,  26  October.    With  enough  plywood  on  hand,  the  enclosure 
of  the  radar  facility  array  face  area  was  completed  on  5  November 
1974,  thus  insuring  that  inside  construction  and  installation  of  the 
prime  system  equipment  could  proceed  during  the  winter  months. 
Erection  of  Calibration  Tower  on  Alaid  Island 
In  concert  with  the  construction  activity  on  Shemya,  work  pro- 
gressed on  the  erection  of  a  65-foot  high  calibration  tower  on  Alaid 
Island.    A  small,  rocky,  precipitous  atoll  in  the  Bering  Sea, 
Alaid  Island  is  situated  approximately  ten  miles  northwest  of  Shemya 
and  accessible  only  by  boat  or  helicopter.    The  sole  purpose  for
erecting  an  inert  boresight  tower  on  unmanned  Alaid  Island  was  to 
insure  the  calibration  accuracy  of  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  on  Shemya. 
A  soil  sampling  and  site  survey  of  Alaid  Island  was  successful- 
ly conducted  on  25-29  May  1974.  As  a  result  of  this  survey,  plans 
were  developed  to  airlift  the  required  construction  material  by  heli- 
copter directly  to  the  selected  tower  site.   This  was  necessitated  by 
the  fact  that  the  slope  of  the  hill  upon  which  the  tower  would  be 
erected,  combined  with  the  tundra  growth  on  the  island,  effectively 
precluded  the  movement  of  these  materials  to  the  construction  site 
by  means  of  heavy  equipment . 
On  17  June  1974,  ESD  received  word  that  the  10-foot  diameter, 
plastic,  dish  reflector  that  would  be  mounted  on  the  top  of  the  cali- 
bration tower  had  been  completely  destroyed  by  fire  while  being 
transported  by  truck  to  Seattle  for  COOL  BARGE  shipment  to  Shemya. 
Following  reorder  of  the  reflector,  it  was  airlifted  to  Shemya 
on  16  September  on  board  a  COBRA  DANE  C-5A  SAAM  aircraft.     Con- 
struction of  the  tower  on  Alaid  Island  commenced  on  19  September. and  - 
was  completed  on  25  September,  four  days  ahead  of  schedule.    Tri- 
angular in  shape,  the  tower  consists  of  steel  angle  sections  painted 
white  and  international  orange  and  crowned  by  a  ten-foot  diameter, 
plastic,  dish  reflector.   Stability  is  provided  by  three  guy  wires, 
120  degrees  apart,  50  feet  from  the  tower  base.   Periodic  maintenance 
visits  to  Alaid  Island  to  tighten  the  tower  guy  wires,  touch  up  rust 
spots  on  the  steel,  and  insure  that  the  reflector  dish  remains  rigid- 
ly connected  to  the  tower,  are  conducted  every  six  to  twelve  months, 
.  .   75 
for  a  period  of  two  to  three  hours  per  visit.
Installation  and  Checkout  of  a  Portion  of  the 
COBRA  DANE  Array  and  Transmitter  Subsystems 
Closely  paralleling  the  construction  activity  on  Shemya  and 
Alaid  Islands  was  the  progress  made  on  the  installation  and  checkout 
of  a  portion  of  the  COBRA  DANE  array  and  transmitter  subsystems  at 
Raytheon's  plant  in  Wayland.   In  addition,  the  COBRA  DANE  computer 
facility,  in  operation  at  the  Raytheon  plant  since  December  1973, 
was  being  used  to  develop  the  system  programs.   The  three  main  com- 
puter developments  were  mission  software,  simulation,  and  diagnostic 
programs  —  all  of  which  were  progressing  on  schedule.    The  first 
major  COBRA  DANE  computer  programming  milestone,  demonstration  of 
the  basic  software  which  operated  the  global  displays,  was  success- 
fully  completed  on  7  October  1974. 
COBRA  DANE  Power  Divider  Fire 
In  January  1975,  the  COBRA  DANE  program  experienced  a  minor  set- 
back that  was  a  portent  of  the  more  serious  difficulties  that  were  to 
confront  it  throughout  the  year.   On  19  January,  a  fire  completely 
destroyed  45  of  the  99  required  S:l  power  dividers  used  in  the  COBRA 
DANE  array  subsystem.   The  fire  occurred  at  Triple  P  Packaging  and 
Paper  Products,  Incorporated,  in  West  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts, 
where  the  power  dividers  were  being  packaged  in  preparation  for  ship- 
ment  to  Shemya.    On  5  February,  ESD  issued  a  change  order  to  the 
COBRA  DANE  prime  contract  to  accelerate  delivery  of  replacements  for 
the  45  8:1  power  dividers  destroyed.   This  action  was  necessary  to 
maintain  the  system's  scheduled  initial  operational  capability  (IOC) 
date  which  would  otherwise  have  slioped  by  7  5  davs  and  increased  pro- 
gram cost?  hy  $1.5  million.   Cost  of  the  ESD-issued  change  order  was 
not  to  exceed  395,000.
-  .:«?,«•■.•  „^ 
—  T;.-?  ^•"--'?«-y'%, -— ■--•■  — — 
COOL  BARGE  being  unloaded  at  Sheraya  dock.
First  Shemya  Island  Earthquake 
Close  on  the  heels  of  the  power  divider  fire,  an  event  took 
place  which  literally  shook  the  COBRA  DANE  program  to  its  very 
foundations.  On  1  February  1975,  Shemya  Island  was  struck  by  an 
earthquake  which  registered  7.5  on  the  Richter  scale  and  whose  epi- 
center was  located  50  miles  north-northwest  of  the  island  at  53.053 
North,  173.619  East.   Fortunately,  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  received 
only  minor  damage.    Following  surveys  conducted  by  Metcalf  and 
Eddy  and  Weston  Geophysical  Research,  Incorporated,  Weston,  Massachu- 
setts, Colonel  Richard  U.  Coraine,  the  COBRA  DANE  System  Program  Di- 
rector, reported  that  "Present  indications  are  that  COBRA  DANE  with- 
stood the  earthquake  well  and  that  its  foundation  is  still  solid.  No 
damage  occurred  which  should  impact  the  development  or  installation 
schedule."    Mr.  O'Mahony  provided  the  following  explanation  for  the 
system's  success  in  withstanding  the  earthquake: 
The  DANE  was  constructed  to  withstand  earthquakes  with 
Seismic  4  impact.   That's  a  geological  category  for  the  extreme 
in  earthquake  damage.   Well,  when  we  started,  no  one  really 
knew  how  to  build  something  to  withstand  that  kind  of  impact. 
It  was  new  term  even  to  industry.   For  the  construction  people, 
it  was  a  calculated  guess  —  more  concrete  and  wire.   We  were 
the  first,  to  my  knowledge,  to  delve  into  that  problem  and  we 
may  have  established  the  norm. 
While  the  COBRA  DANE  facility  escaped  virtually  unscathed  from 
the  earthquake,  the  main  runway  on  Shemya  sustained  major  damage. 
Mr.  O'Mahony,  who  traveled  to  Shemya  with  a  special  four-man  con- 
tractor survey  team  to  assess  damage,  reported  the  "The  runway  is 
broken  about  4,000  feet  from  the  East  end  and  has  a  drop  of  4  inches 
go 
to  10  inches."    With  only  6,000  feet  of  the  main  runway  in  usable 
condition,  the  C-141  SAAM  of  C03RA  DANE  prime  mission  equipment
scheduled  for  3  February  1975  was  cancelled  and  a  MAC  survey  team 
was  dispatched  to  evaluate  the  ability  of  the  main  runway  at  Shemya 
to  support  C-141  and  C-5A  aircraft. 
Second  Shemya  Island  Earthquake 
On  8  February,  Shemya  was  hit  by  a  second  earthquake  that  regis- 
q  e 
tered  5.8  on  the  Richter  scale.    "I  was  in  bed  dozing  when  the 
clothes  hangers  began  moving,"  Mr.  O'Mahony  recalled. 
The  room  started  swaying  and  I  heard  a  thundering  noise,  a  slow 
rumble,  like  a  train  coming  at  me.  Then  there  was  a  loud  thud 
and  it  seemed  like  the  train  was  moving  away.  It  was  enough  to 
know  we'd  just  been  hit. 
Fortunately,  there  was  no  additional  damage  to  the  COBRA  DANE  facil- 
ity and  very  little  additional  datnage  to  the  runway  or  base  proper 
resulting  from  the  second  earthquake. 
The  MAC  survey  team  completed  its  evaluation  of  the  ability  of 
the  earthquake-damaged  Shemya  runway  to  support  C-141  and  C-5A  air- 
craft on  15  February.88  Five  days  later,  on  20  February,  MAC  rein- 
stated the  SAAM  missions  for  transporting  COBRA  DANE  prime  mission 
equipment  from  Hanscom  AFB  to  Shemya.    The  first  of  these  missions, 
involving  a  C-141  aircraft  carrying  array  plates  and  coaxial  cable, 
departed  Hanscom  on  26  February.90  Eventually,  a  total  of  700  tons 
of  materiel  would  be  delivered  from  Hanscom  to  Shemya  via  21  separate 
SAAM  missions  (seven  C-5As  and  14  C-141s)  extending  from  February  to 
December  1975. 
COBRA  DANE  Power  Problem 
While  still  occupied  in  assessing  the  amount  of  damage  inflicted 
by  the  cwo  massive  earthquakes  which  struck  Shemya,  ESD  was  once 
again  confronted  with  the  nagging  problem  of  obtaining  sufficient
power  for  the  COBRA  DANE  facility.   On  22  February  1975,  AAC  notified 
both  Headquarters  USAF  and  ESD  of  its  inability  to  supply  sufficient 
power  to  COBRA  DANE  for  equipment  installation  and  checkout  scheduled 
to  begin  in  March.   In  addition,  AAC  stated  that  the  Sheraya  power 
92  93 
plant  upgrade  program  was  behind  schedule.    ESD  found  this: 
totally  unacceptable  for  the  COBRA  DANE  program.  COBRA  DANE  is 
an  urgently  required,  vital  national  defense  radar.  Delays  an- 
nounced/forecasted by  AAC  in  furnishing  timely  power  (in  both 
quantity  and  quality)  to  COBRA  DANE  will  adversely  impact  the 
program  schedule  and  could  delay  IOC  [scheduled  for  6  March 
1976]  by  as  much  as  150  days.  Cost  impact  for  each  day  of  de- 
lay is  estimated  at  $25K  [thousand]. 
To  avoid  both  the  added  delay  and  additional  expense,  ESD  re- 
quested Air  Staff  approval  (1)  to  deploy  eight  Bare  Base  750KW  tur- 
bine generators  and  ancillary  equipment  to  Shemya  to  provide  tempo- 
rary power,  and  (2)  to  accelerate  the  Shemya  power  plant  update  pro- 
gram schedule.  ESD  estimated  the  cost  of  deploying  and  installing 
the  eight  Bare  Base  generators  at  $750,000.    This  was  later  revised 
to  $825,000. 95 
Once  approval  was  received  from  Headquarters  USAF  to  deploy,  in- 
stall, and  operate  eight  war  reserve  materiel  (WRM)  generators  for 
COBRA  DANE  interim  power,  dedicated  airlift  of  the  generators  from 
Holloman  AFB,  New  Mexico,  to  Shemya  commenced  on  2  April.    The  fi- 
nal SAAM  of  materiel  to  Shemya,  a  C-5A  loaded  with  generator  and 
transformer  interface  equipment,  departed  Hanscom  on  3  April  with  re- 
fueling and  rest  stops  scheduled  for  Dover  AFB,  Delaware,  and  Elmen- 
dorf  AFB,  Alaska.  As  a  result  of  both  mechanical  and  weather  diffi- 
culties, this  C-5A  SAAM  was  delayed  at  Dover  for  three  days.  Finally 
arriving  at  Elmendorf  on  6  April,  the  aircraft  experienced  additional
weather  and  maintenance  problems.  A  second  C-5A  was  dispatched  to 
Elmendorf  to  continue  the  generator  SAAM  flight,  but  both  this  air- 
craft and  the  original  C-5A  were  "grounded"  on  11  April  pending  the 
completion  of  a  time  compliance  technical  order  (TCTO)  compliance 
review  conducted  by  a  special  Lockheed  survey  team.    To  avoid  any 
further  delay,  AAC  chartered  a  C-133  which  airlifted  the  generator 
no 
and  transformer  interface  equipment  to  Shemya  on  29  April.    Seven- 
teen days  later,  on  16  May,  all  power  equipment  was  installed  and 
operational,  the  transformers  were  installed  and  connected,  and 
feeder  lines  had  been  installed  and  connected  to  both  the  trans- 
formers  and  the  Raytheon  switchgear. 
Installation  of  COBRA  DANE  Array  Plates 
Removal  of  the  fire  retardant  plywood  from  the  face  of  the 
COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  and  installation  of  array  plates  commenced 
during  the  first  week  of  May  1975.  While  original  plans  called  for 
the  installation  of  four  plates  per  day,  in  point  of  fact  11  plates 
were  installed  on  the  first  day,  followed  by  15  on  the  second  day. 
Similar  progress  was  made  on  work  involving  the  transmitter  groups. 
According  to  the  developed  schedule,  the  first  transmitter  group 
would  be  installed  by  15  May  and  a  second  by  the  end  of  the  month. 
By  5  June,  however,  nine  out  of  the  12  transmitter  groups  had  been 
installed,  ail  transmitter  group  cables  were  on  site,  interconnec- 
tions were  completed  on  the  first  two  transmitter  groups  and  were  in 
progress  on  a  third,  and  low  voltage  checks  had  been  accomplished  on 
the  first  two  transmitter  groups.   In  addition,  approximately  300  of 
the  nearly  5,000  missing  phase  array  elements  were  installed,  48
phase  shifter  racks  were  in  place  thus  completing  the  upper  three 
floors  in  the  six-story  structure,  the  8:1  corporate  feed  dividers 
(which  input  to  the  phase  shifter  racks)  were  completed  on  the  fourth 
and  sixth  floors,  and  one  of  four  phase  shifter  distribution  units 
102 
had  been  moved  into  position  on  the  third  floor. 
Progress  on  construction  of  the  PMEL  building  was  equally  im- 
pressive. As  of  5  Juti£,  the  placement  of  floor  tile  was  completed, 
50  percent  of  the  ceilings  were  installed,  all  telephone  and  speaker 
wires  were  in  pluce,  installation  of  PA  speakers  was  60  percent  fin- 
ished, and  outside  lighting,  computer  room  duct  work,  demineralized 
water  mains,  and  installation  of  the  ten-inch  fire  main  were  all  com- 
plete. With  the  exception  of  painting,  completion  date  for  the  PMEL 
103 
building  was  scheduled  for  15  June  1975.     Total  acquisition  costs 
for  the  COBRA  DANE  program,  as  of  1  July  1975,  were  estimated  at  $68.1 
millxon. 
COBRA  DANE  Software  Development  Problems 
Up  until  the  spring  of  1975,  the  problems  and  crises  confronting 
the  COBRA  DANE  program,  while  of  impressive  proportions,  had  never- 
theless appeared  one  at  a  time.  Towards  the  end  of  April  1975,  how- 
ever, it  became  apparent  that  several  problems  were  arising  simul- 
taneously in  the  software  development  area.     These  included  a  com- 
puter core  memory  problem  in  which  core  requirements  exceeded  avail- 
ability, a  timing  problem  which  effectively  precluded  the  processing 
of  all  required  real  time  data,  and  a  problem  with  the  basic  method 
of  scheduling  radar  commands.  Under  the  original  concept  for  sched- 
uling radar  commands,  a  highly  dynamic  scheduler  would  be  employed,
allowing  wide  flexibility  in  the  use  of  pulse  widths  ind  pulse  repe- 
tition rates.  Unfortunately,  this  particular  concept  proved  to  be 
beyond  the  state-of-the-art  and  a  fixed  template  approach  had  to  be 
pursued.  While  less  flexible  than  the  dynamic  scheduler,  the  fixed 
106 
template  approach  did  fulfill  system  requirements. 
On  16  May,  Colonel  Coraine  notified  the  ESD  Command  Section 
107 
tnat: 
We  are  becoming  increasingly  concerned  about  whether  or 
not  software  problems  can  be  solved  in  time  to  allow  adherence 
to  the  currently  scheduled  IOC  [date  of  6  March  1976] .  In  the 
past,  Raytheon  has  been  exceptionally  good  in  providing  worka- 
rounds for  problems  and  we  in  no  way  mean  to  inhibit  them  in 
this  effort.  Our  feeling  is  that  the  task  is  formidable  and 
presents  a  tremendous  challenge. 
At  the  request  of  Lieutenant  General  Wilbur  L.  Creech,  ESD  Com- 
mander, on  20  June  1975  the  COBRA  DANE  SPO  developed  an  assessment 
of  the  most  pessimistic  schedule  for  IOC  of  the  system.     Among 
the  software  development  difficulties  which  posed  a  potentially  ad- 
verse impact  on  the  scheduled  IOC  date,  the  COBRA  DANE  SPO  high- 
109 
lighted  the  fact  that: 
The  major  problem  now  is  that  we  have  exceeded  the  131K  word 
core  capability  of  our  Cyber  74-18  computer.  The  long  range 
solution  is  probably  to  add  core  or  purchase  a  larger  and  more 
efficient  computer.  However,  in  the  short  haul  in  order  to 
make  IOC,  certain  simultaneous  functions  (SPACETRACK,  Early 
Warning,  and  possibly  even  Intelligence)  may  have  to  be  changed 
from  an  automatic  mode  to  a  manual  mode,  or  sacrificed. 
In  its  pessimistic  assessment,  the  COBRA  DANE  SPO  projected  an 
IOC  slip  of  a  little  more  than  three  and  a  half  months,  from  6  March 
to  July  1976.  At  the  same  time,  confidence  was  expressed  "that  we 
have  a  good  chance  of  meeting  the  basic  requirements  of  COBRA  DANE  by 
6  Mar  76. "110  This  would  be  accomplished  by  means  of  dedicated  and
aggressive  actions  on  the  part  of  both  Raytheon  and  the  Air  Force, 
"and  lots  of  plain  good  old  luck!"111 
The  optimism  generated  by  the  COBRA  DANE  SPO  lasted  less  than 
two  months.  As  a  result  of  a  delay  in  the  conduct  of  software  pre- 
liminary qualification  testing  (PQT) /formal  qualification  testing 
(FQT),  scheduled  to  commence  in  August  1975,  ESD  initiated  a  com- 
plete Air  Force  assessment  of  the  problems  affecting  COBRA  DANE 
software  development  and  their  impact,  if  any,  on  the  program's 
112 
scheduled  milestones.     This  assessment,  conducted  by  a  team  com- 
prised of  software  experts  from  ESD,  ADCOM,*  RADC,  and  Lincoln  Lab- 
oratory, commenced  on  18  August  and  was  completed  on  10  September 
1975.113 
The  results  of  the  assessment  indicated  that  COBRA  DANE  soft- 
ware development  difficulties  could  not  be  resolved  in  time  to  pre- 
vent an  impact  on  the  6  March  1976  IOC  date.   This  determination 
was  briefed  to  the  ESD  Commander  and  to  Headquarters  AF$C  and  the 
Air  Staff  and  resulted  in  direction  from  Headquarters  USAF  to  con- 
tinue with  the  acquisition  of  a  full  COBRA  DANE  capability,  that  is, 
prime  mission,  intelligence  gathering,  with  corollary  missions  of 
114 
early  warning  and  SPACETRACK,  with  a  slip  in  IOC  date.     Raytheon 
projected  the  IOC  slip  at  three  and  a  half  months,  from  6  March  to 
July  1976.   ESD  on  the  other  hand,  anticipated  at  least  a  seven- 
month  slip,  to  October  1976,  based  upon  the  results  of  the  Air 
Force  assessment  of  software  development  problems. 
*0n  1  July  1975,  the  designation  for  the  Aerospace  Defense  Com- 
mand was  changed  from  ADC  to  ADCOM.
On  10  November  1975,  a  meeting  to  coordinate  the  start  of  COBRA 
DANE  radio  frequency  (RF)  radiation  with  all  concerned  activities 
was  held  at  AAC.  As  a  result  of  this  meeting,  a  list  of  agreed-to 
action  items  for  ESD  and  AAC  was  developed.  This  list  of  action 
items  fell  into  two  categories:   (a)  actions  necessary  to  insure 
compatibility  between  Shemya  AFB  flight/ground  activities  and  ini- 
tial COBRA  DANE  radiation;  and  (b)  actions  required  for  the  long 
IXfi 
term,  when  COBRA  DANE  would  be  operating  24  hours  a  day. 
An  important  COBRA  DANE  program  milestone  was  reached  on  14 
November  when  the  radar  facility  at  Shemya  radiated  for  the  first 
time.   Total  radiation  time  was  approximately  one  and  one-half  hours 
with  power  emanating  from  just  one  of  the  96  high  power  transmitter 
tubes . 
For  two  days  late  in  November,  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility 
and  PMEL  building  were  once  again  put  to  the  test  by  the  forces  of 
Mother  Nature.   On  21-22  November,  a  severe  winter  storm  with  winds 
in  excess  of  100  knots  slammed  into  Shemya  Island.   Fortunately,  no 
118 
serious  damage  was  done  to  the  COBRA  DANE  facility  or  equipment. 
Issuance  of  RFP  for  COBRA  DANE 
Operations  and  Maintenance  (0&M)  Contract 
December  1975  was  witness  to  two  important  events  involving  the 
COBRA  DANE  program.   The  first  of  these  occurred  on  1  December  when 
ESD  issued  to  Raytheon  the  sole  source  RFP  for  operation,  mainte- 
nance, and  logistics  support  of  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  for  the  first 
119 
full  year  following  system  IOC.     This  action  was  dictated  by 
COBRA  DANE  PMD  No.  I-Y-2-001(3)/31015F  issued  by  Headquarters  USAF 
on  11  September  1974.   Following  the  first  full  year  of  contractor-
supplied  operation,  maintenance,  and  logistics  support  of  the  COBRA 
DANE  system,  ADCOH  would  assume  funding  responsibility  for  opera- 
tion and  maintenance  (O&M) ,  with  Air  Force  Logistics  Command  (AFLC) 
120 
bearing  responsibility  for  providing  wholesale  logistics  support. 
At  the  end  of  1975,  ESD  anticipated  receipt  of  Raytheon's  response 
121 
to  the  RFP  sometime  early  in  January  1976. 
Three  days  after  the  issuance  of  the  RFP,  MAC's  special  airlift 
mission  of  COBRA  DANE  prime  mission  equipment  —  begun  in  February 
122 
1975  —  was  completed.     On  4  December,  the  Cyber  74-18  computer 
123 
was  delivered  to  Shemya  on  board  a  C-141  aircraft.     In  all,  a  to- 
tal of  700  tons  of  COBRA  DANE  prime  mission  equipment  was  delivered 
to  Shemya  via  21  separate  missions  involving  seven  C-5A  and  14  C-141 
flights.124 
COBRA  DANE  Power  Supply  Problem 
At  the  beginning  of  CY  1976,  two  major  problems  confronting  the 
COBRA  DANE  program  still  remained  to  be  resolved.  One  of  these  was 
insufficient  power.   In  April  1975,  after  it  had  become  obvious  that 
power  from  the  new  Shemya  base  power  plant  would  not  become  avail- 
able on  schedule,  ESD  obtained  eight  WRM  generators  from  Holloman 
AFB.   These  were  established  on  Shemya  to  supplement  the  power  re- 
ceived from  the  old  AAC  power  plant.   During  the  last  six  months  of 
1975,  however,  power  failures  occurred  on  five  of  the  eight  genera- 
125 
tors.     As  a  consequence,  the  government  was  unable  to  fulfill  the 
contractor's  power  requirements  on  15  December  1975  for  the  first 
126 
time. 
In  January  1976,  problems  experienced  with  the  interim  power 
supplied  by  the  eight  WRM  generators  continued  to  have  an  adverse
impact  on  the  COBRA  DANE  testing  schedule.   At  the  same  time,  work 
continued  on  the  installation  of  four  Cooper-Bessemer  generators  in 
the  Shemya  base  power  plant.   Three  of  these  generators  were  ac- 
cepted by  AAC  on  6  April  and  less  than  one  week  later,  on  12  April, 
prime  power  was  made  available  to  COBRA  DANE  by  using  two  of  the 
127 
four  Cooper-Bassemer  generators. 
This  arrangement  operated  satisfactorily  until  25  April  when 
the  bearings  within  the  two  Cooper-Bessemer  generators  turbo-chargers 
burned  out,  resulting  in  a  complete  loss  of  power.   Before  prime 
power  was  resumed  again  on  30  April,  COBRA  DANE  operated  on  power 
supplied  by  the  WRM  generators.   These  continued  to  be  employed  as 
emergency  or  back-up  equipment  until  July  1976  when  they  were  dis- 
128 
connected  and  readied  for  return  shipment  to  Holloman  AFB. 
COBRA  DANE  Computer  Core  Memory  Problem 
The  second  major  unresolved  problem  confronting  the  COBRA  DANE 
program  at  the  beginning  of  CY  1976  involved  system  software,  spe- 
cifically, the  computer  core  memory  problem.   The  COBRA  DANE  compu- 
ter, a  Cyber  74-18,  possessed  a  131,000-word  core  memory  which  was 
considered  adequate  when  the  program  first  began.   As  the  program 
evolved,  however,  the  requirements  for  core  memory  exceeded  capabil- 
129 
ity  by  33  percent. 
On  27  January  1976,  PQT  began  for  the  mission  computer  program 
and  the  simulation  computer  program.   In  this,  as  in  earlier  soft- 
130 
ware  tests,  the  computer  core  memory  problem  had  an  adverse  impact. 
In  an  effort  to  solve  this  problem,  Headquarters  AFSC  recommended  to 
the  Air  Staff  that  a  surplus  Cyber  74  computer  be  assigned  to  the
131 
COBRA  DANE  program.     Headquarters  USAF  approved  this  recommenda- 
132 
tion  on  18  June  1976.     Less  than  three  months  later,  on  11  Sep- 
tember, the  second  computer,  a  Cyber  74-14,  was  shipped  to  Shemya. 
The  Vappi  Corporation  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  commenced  modifi- 
cation work  on  the  sixth  floor  of  the  radar  facility,  to  accommodate 
133 
the  second  computer,  on  24  September.     The  second  computer  was 
put  into  operation  on  15  November  and  successfully  alleviated  the 
core  memory  problem. 
Change  to  COBRA  DANE 
Initial  Operational  Capability  (IOC)  Date 
As  a  result  of  the  problems  experienced  with  the  COBRA  DANE 
power  supply  and  the  computer  core  memory,  ESD  and  Raytheon  negotia- 
ted an  ECP  to  the  prime  contract  in  June  1976  which  changed  the  pro- 
135 
jected  IOC  date  from  6  March  1976  to  31  October  1976.     In  Septem- 
ber, a  further  program  schedule  slip  was  negotiated  and  the  COBRA 
DANE  IOC  was  pushed  back  to  15  January  1977. 136 
Award  of  COBRA  DANE  O&M  Contract 
In  addition  to  the  IOC  schedule  slip,  in  June  ESD  was  also  in- 
volved in  negotiations  with  Raytheon  on  the  O&M  contract  for  the 
COBRA  DANE  system.   These  negotiations  were  completed  on  30  June 
when  ESD  awarded  Raytheon  a  $10,375,000  O&M  contract  for  COBRA 
137 
DANE. 
First  Detection  and  Track  of  a 
Soviet  Missile  Launch  by  COBRA  DANE 
One  of  the  most  significant  and  important  milestones  in  the 
COBRA  DANE  program  was  attained  on  29,   July  when  the  radar  at  Shemya 
detected  and  tracked  a  Soviet  missile  launch.   V.'hereas  COBRA  DAME
*iWS*^-«- -.•;-■■  ••■ 
Completed  COBRA  DANE  system  or  Shemya  Island,
had  previously  tracked  several  satellites,  this  represented  the 
first  time  that  the  system  had  ever  detected  and  tracked  a  Soviet 
missile  launch.   Less  than  a  month  later,  on  25  August,  COBRA  DANE 
1 38 
successfully  detected  and  tracked  a  second  Soviet  missile  launch. 
COBRA  DANE  System  Testing 
System  testing  of  COBRA  DANE  commenced  on  28  October  1976  with 
139 
power  being  supplied  by  the  upgraded  AAC  power  plant  at  Shemya. 
System  performance  testing,  which  included  subsystem  performance, 
logistical  review,  SPACETRACK  and  early  warning  capability,  was  com- 
pleted on  30  November,  followed,  from  1-15  December,  by  a  reliabili- 
ty/maintainability/availability (R/M/A)  demonstration.  All  testing 
was  satisfactorily  completed  on  16  December.     The  next  day,  Ray- 
theon commenced  full-time  O&M  of  the  system.     On  the  same  date, 
COBRA  DANE  successfully  commenced  operations,  collecting  intelli- 
gence information  and  SPACETRACK  data  for  ADCOM* s  SPACETRACK  net- 
work. 
ESP  Acceptance  of  COBRA  DANE  from  Raytheon 
At  the  end  of  December,  ESD  accepted  the  COBRA  DANE  system  from 
Raytheon  with  noted  deficiencies  scheduled  to  be  corrected  by  28 
February  1977. 143  During  this  interim  period  between  system  accep- 
tance and  turnover  to  the  operating  command,  ESD  was  responsible  for 
the  COBRA  DANE  system  while  ADCOM  actually  operated  the  equipment 
and  Raytheon  provided  O&M  support.1    On  25-27  January  1977,  plan- 
ning for  turnover/transition  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system  began  between 
145 
ESD  and  ADCOM.
Turnover/Transition  of  COBRA  DANE 
from  ESP  to  ADCOM  and  AFLC 
The  actual  turnover/ transition  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system  occurred 
on  13  July  1977  when  representatives  fron  ADCOM,  AFLC,  and  ESD 
146 
signed  the  COBRA  DANE  System  Turnover  Certificate.     This  document 
provided  for  the  formal  turnover  of  system  responsibility  for  COBRA 
147 
DANE  from  ESD  to  ADCOM.     In  addition,  this  event  marked  the  IOC 
148 
date  for  COBRA  DANE.     Program  Management  Responsibility  Transfer 
(PMRT)  of  the  radar  system  from  ESD  to  the  Sacramento  Air  Logistics 149 
Center  (SM-ALC)  of  AFLC  for  logistics  support  occurred  on  1  October. 
According  to  Mr.  O'Mahony: 
This  transfer  marks  the  end  of  an  extremely  important  and 
successful  acquisition  program  for  the  Air  Force.  The  Program 
Management  Responsibility  Transfer  date  of  1  Oct  was  jointly 
established  by  ESD  and  the  Sacramento  Air  Logistics  Center 
nearly  three  years  ago.   Even  more  remarkable  is  the  fact  that 
the  system  is  being  transferred  without  any  residual  Program 
Management  Responsibility  Transfer  tasks. 
System  Description 
The  completed  COBRA  DANE  radar  facility  measured  110  feet  in 
height,  108  feet  in  width,  and  85  feet  in  length.     The  radar's 
clocklike  face,  96  feet  in  diameter  and  slanted  20  degrees,  con- 
152 
tained  34,768  sensors  attached  to  96  antenna  plates.     Of  these 
sensors,  15,3^0  were  active  elements  radiating  electronic  impulses 
in  constantly  changing  directions.   The  remaining  elements  were  non- 
radiating  or  "passive"  elements  which  received  the  return  signals 
153 
from  the  radar's  active  elements. 
The  term  phased  array,  when  applied  to  COBRA  DANE,  signifies 
radar  scanning  without  antenna  motion.  By  feeding  electrical  en- 
ergy to  a  number  of  active  radiating  elements  in  precise,  computer-
Air  Force  specialist  traces  missile  flight  on 
control  data  grid  display  within  the  COBRA  DANE  radar  complex.
controlled  patterns,  COBRA  DANE  could  detect  and  track  orbiting  ob- 
jects at  very  high  speeds  involving  fractions  of  a  second. 
Conclusion 
COBRA  DANE  represents  a  huge  technological  advance  over  the. 17- 
year-old  AN/FPS-17-79  and  80  detection  and  tracking  radars  that  it 
replaced  on  Sheraya.   In  contrast  to  these  rotating,  dish  radars, 
which  could  only  track  one  object  at  a  time,  COBRA  DANE  is  capable 
of  simultaneously  detecting  and  tracking  the  paths  of  300  missiles 
within  the  earth's  atmosphere  and  up  to  200  objects  orbiting  in 
outer  space.     Equally  impressive,  COBRA  DANE  is  capable  of  spot- 
ting an  object  the  size  of  a  basketball  at  a  range  of  2,000  miles. 
The  estimated  final  acquisition  cost  of  the  COBRA  DANE  system,  as  of 
19  July  1978,  was  placed  at  $71.3  million.157 
The  fact  that  COBRA  DANE  IOC  and  turnover  to  ADC0M  occurred  sev- 
eral months  behind  schedule  has  distracted  little  from  the  overall 
158 
consensus  that  the  program  was  an  extremely  successful  effort. 
159 
"Believe  me,"  Mr.  0'Mahony  explained: 
we  didn't  go  into  the  program  like  blue-eyed  optimists.  We 
knew  we  had  a  very  ambitious  schedule.   We  had  just  33  months 
after  the  contract  was  awarded  in  1973  to  complete  the  facility 
and  have  the  system  fully  operational. 
And  we  had  to  wonder  just  how  we  were  going  to  build  some- 
thing like  that  on  a  place  like  Shemya  with  all  the  logistics 
and  weather  problems.   The  gloom-and-doom  people  said  it  would 
take  six  or  seven  years. 
Mr.  Ed  Thomas,  Chief,  Engineering  and  Testing  for  COBRA  DANE, 
expressed  a  feeling  of  accomplishment  that  was  shared  by  everyone 
,  ,  160 
who  worked  on  tne  program: 
There's  satisfaction  that  goes  with  it  all.   We  took  a  ra- 
dar system  we  knew  would  work,  made  it  bigger  and  more  powerful
Close-up  view  of  COBRA  DANE'S  clocklike  face  containing 
34,768  sensors  attached  to  96  antenna  plates.
than  anyone  had  ever  done,  and  put  it  on  an  island  13,000  miles 
away  in  the  most  severe  weather  conditions. 
The  ultimate  accolade  on  the  success  of  the  COBRA  DANE  program 
came  from  Colonel  Coraine  when  he  revealed  that  "The  data  gathered 
by  the  radar  has  exceeded  all  expectations,  and  is  extremely  useful 
to  the  intelligence  community."