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 FOR OFFICAL USE ONLY
ESD AND THE COBRA DANE CONSTRUCTION EFFORT ON SREMYA ISLAND By Dr. E. Michael Del Pana October 1979 Avoroved ; BERT T. MARSH Lieutenant General, USAF Carmander HISTORY OFFICE 3245TH AIR BASE GROUP HALISCOM ATR FORCE BASE BEDFO?D, MASSACHUSETTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS . . . 2. 6 6 «© © © © © © ew : COBRA DANE CHRONOLOGY . . . . 6» 6 © @ © es ew we fond < Introduction ..... . * rr rr . Background and Objectives of COBRA DANE Program... . System Description and Location . . . 2. 2. 1 6 se eee Challenges Posed by COBRA DANE Program .......... Shemya Island . . . . 1. 2. e© «© © we we we . Site Survey . . - 2 2 © 6 «© © © © © we ew ew Work Camp ..... . . . oe ee COBRA DANE Request for Proposal (RFP) ee COBRA DANE Contract Award .... . A or rr Construction of Radar Facility and PMEL Building ....-. Design Reviews . 2. 2. 2. 6 «2 © © @ © © we we ow Shemya AFB Power Plant . . 2. 2 2 ee ee we ew ew ee ee oe ew we 6D e COnNDADU KH WH PP COBRA DANE Fire Protection System . . 2... 1 2 se ee ee ew ee 1B Construction of Radar Facility and PMEL Building ........ 13 Erection of Calibration Tower on Alaid Island .......... 27 Installation and Checkout of a Portion of the COBRA DANE Array and Transmitter Subsystems . . 6. 66 6 ee ee ee ee we ee ew ee SD COBRA DANE Power Divider Fire... . 2.6. ee eee ee ee ee 21 First Shemya Island Earthquake .... 1. 6 ee ee ee ew we ee 23 Second Shemya Island Earthquake... 2... ee ee ee ee ew ee 24 COBRA DANE Power Problem .... we ee ew ee we we ewe 2G Installation of COBRA DANE Array Plates ny 2°) COBRA DANE Software Development Problems ne af Issuance of RFP for COBRA DANE Operations and Maintenance (0&M) Contract ... cee ee eC COBRA DANE Power Supply Problem see ew ~ eee. 31 COBRA DANE Computer Core Memory Problem... oe ee 32 Change to COBRA DANE Initial Operational Capability (10C) Date . 33 Award of COBRA DANE O&M Contract .. coe 33 First Detection and Track of a Soviet Missile Launch by COBRA Dane 33 COBRA DANE System Testing. . er 2) ESD Acceptance of COBRA DANE from Raytheon. - .. 35 Turnover/Transition of COBRA DANE from ESD to ADCOM and AFLC. . . 36 System Description . 2... ee ee ee eee ee ee ee ee ee 86 Conclusion .......546e860-6 . 38 FOOTNOTES ...... : - 41 4A,
LIST OF PHOTCGRAPHS Foundation for six-story COBRA DANE radar facility and one-story PMEL building . . 1 1 6 ee ee we ee eo we te eee we ee DY Cooper-Bessemer diesel generator . ©. 6 s+ ee ee ee eee es 11 Fire pump house and water tank at Shemya AFB... «6 6 se ees 14 Work completed on outer shell of radar facility ard PMEL building 16 COOL BARGE arrival at Shemya dock . 2. 6 6 6 2 2 se ee ew eee es 18 65~foot high calibration tower on Alaid Island... - +--+ +s +> 20 COOL BARGE being unloaded at Shemya dock.» - ee e+ es we ewes 22 Completed COBRA DANE system on Shemya Isiand - . «s+ s+ se ses 34 Air Force specialist traces missile flight on control data grid dis- play within the COBRA DANE radar complex... ++ + + 5+ + e+ + = + 37 Close-up view of COBRA DANE's clocklike face containing 34,768 sen- sors attached to 96 antenna plates . . . + « «© » +» «© © © «© « - 39 dAd
1 Feb 28 Jun 28 Oct 11 Jan 6 Jun Aug, 5 Sep ll- 14 Sep 17 Sep 9. 12 Oct Oct 72 72 72 72 73 73 73 73 73 73 73 COBRA DANE CHRONOLOGY Hq USAF issued a program management directive (PMD No. I-Y¥~2~-001-(1)<31015F) 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). 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 Shenya. ‘ ESD conducted a pre-solicitation briefing on the COBRA DANE program attended by 100 representatives from 29 different companies. ESD issued the COBRA DANE request for proposal (RFP). Contractor proposals for the COBRA DANE program were submitted to ESD. 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. Construction began on the foundation for the six-story COBRA DANE radar structure and attached one-story Pre- cision Measurement Equipment Laboratory (PMEL). The first COOL BARGE shipment of 600 tons of construc- tion materials arrived at Shemya. Preliminary design review (PDR) of the COBRA DANE fa- cility was completed. The first Military Airlift Command (MAC) airlift of construction material, six tons of foundation rein- forcement rods, arrived at Shemya. PDR of the COBRA DANE system was completed. Construction work was completed on the foundation for the six-storv COBRA DANE radar structure and attached one-story PMEL building.
Oct ll- 14 Dec 12- 19 Feb 16 May 22 May 24 May 25~- 29 May 17 Jun Aug 16 Sep 19 Sep 73 73 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 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. Work began on the erection of the structural steel framework for both the COBRA DANE radar facility and at- tached PMEL building. 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). A soil sampling and site survey of Alaid Island was suc- cessfully completed. 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. Work was completed on the outer steel shell of both the COBRA DANE radar facility and PMEL building. A C-5A special assignment airlift mission (SAAM), car- rying 65 tons of required construction items, landed at Shemya. Work began on the erection of the calibration tower on Alaid Island.
25 19 15 20 22 16 20 18 Sep Nov Jan Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb May May Jun Aug 74 74 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 Construction of the calibration tower on Alaid Island was completed, four days ahead of schedule. Work was completed on the enclosure of the radar facil~ ity array face with fire retardant plywood. A fire completely destroyed 45 of the 99 required 8;1 power dividers used in the COBRA DANE array subsystem. 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. 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. Shemya Island was hit by a second earthquake that reg- istered 5.8 on the Richter scale. 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. MAC reinstated the SAAM missions for transporting COBRA DANE prime mission equipment from Hanscom AFB to Shemva. AAC notified both Headquarters USAF and ESD of its ina- bility to supply sufficient power to COBRA DANE for equipment installation and checkout. 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. Work began on the removal of the fire retardant plywood from the face of the COBRA DANE radar facility and the installation of array plates. 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 (I0C). A team comprised of software exverts 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 impacc, if any, on the program's scheduled milestones. vl
10 27 12 25 18 30 28 11 Sep Nov Nov Dec Dec Jan Apr Apr Jun Jun Jun Jul Sep 75 75 75 75 76 76 76 76 76 76 76 76 ia 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. A meeting was held at AAC to coordinate the start of COBRA DANE radio frequency (RF) radiation. The COBRA DANE 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. 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 I0C. 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. 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. Prime power was made available to COBRA DANE by using two of the four Cooper-Bessemer generators. The bearings within the two Cooper-Bessemer generators turbo-chargers burned out, resulting in a complete loss of power. 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. ESD awarded Raytheon a $10,375,900 operations and main- tenance (O&M) contract for COBRA DANE. ESD and Raytheon negotiated an engineering change bro- posal (ECP) to the prime contract which changed the projected I0C date of the COBRA DANE system from 6 March to 31 October 1974. For the first time, the COBRA DANE radar detected and tracked a Soviet missile launch. A second COBRA DANE computer, a Cyber 74-14, was shipped to Shemya. VLA,
Sep 28 Oct 15 Nov 30 Nov 15 Dec 17 Dec 17 Dec Dec 25- 27 Jan 13 Jul 13 Jul 1 Oct 76 76 76 76 76 76 76 76 77 77 77 77 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. System testing of COBRA DANE commenced with power being supplied by the upgraded AAC power plant at Shemya. The second COBRA DANE computer, a Cyber 74-14, was put into operation and successfully alleviated the core memory problem. 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 0&M of the COBRA DANE sys- tem. COBRA DANE successfully commenced operations, collect- ing intelligence information and SPACETRACK data for ADCOM's SPACETRACK network. ESD accepted the COBRA DANE system from Raytheon with noted deficiencies scheduled to be corrected by 28 Feb- ruary 1977. Planning for turnover/transition of the COBRA DANE sys- tem commenced between ESD and ADCOM. Actual turnover/transition of the COBRA DANE system took place when representatives from ADCOM, AFLC, and ESD signed the COBRA DANE System Turnover Certificate. COBRA DANE achieved IOC with the signing of the COBRA DANE System Turnover Certificate. 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. vice
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 om 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- tems.* Recently, FSD 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-(1)-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 n3 ADC {Aerospace Defense Command]. The primary purpose of the COBRA DANE radar wouid be:4 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- 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. 10 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 tie 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).4 Of even greater importance, the selection of Shemya as the site for COBRA DANE represented an engi- neering and logistical nightnare, since climatic conditions on the island imposed severe restraints on such vital activities as supply,
i support, logistics, maintenance, communications, transportation, and on-site construction. Shemya 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 rain 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 conditions surrounding Shemva, it also creates a vwear-round tumule 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.""*/ AS one observer described conditions on Shemya: "There are only eight to 10 clear davs a vear, but there is never a 18 - . . 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. Ali other on-site support improvement actions necessary to activate the system, such as grading, power, and utilities, would be an MCP responsibility. 9 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 (RFI), 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- 2 ment for support of COBRA pane. 74
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 $45,500 to cover the costs of dismantling the work camp, transporting it from Amchitka, and reas- sembling it on Shemya.*4 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 from 29 different companies, a summary of the then current proyram status and requirements 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.7> 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.7° The primary objective of these site visits was to familiarize the contractors with some of the difficulties they couid expect to encounter during the course of the COBRA DANE program with such things as weather, transportation, 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, wr. 28 COBRA DANE Contract Award Contractor proposals for the COBRA DANE system were submitted to ESD on 1l 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. °° Acquisitica casts for the 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. °- 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- 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- rorcement rods. >° Construction of the foundation for the six-story radar struc- ture and attached one-story PMEL building, begun in August, was com-~ pleced in October 1973, This achievement marked the first major
Foundation for six-story COBRA DANE radar facility and one-story PMEL building.
10 milestone on the COBRA DANE program.” Once the foundation was completed, the site and work camp were placec 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. 29 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 1974.44 Shemya AFB Power Plant One of the first major problems to affect the COBRA DANE program occurred in the late fali 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 1975.77 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 SE Dafne oe 83 ee “ye? ; Be She oan oe et Bed OOPER-BESSEMER DIESEL ENGINE oun Cooper-Bessemer Diesel Generator.
12 equipment from the United States Army's SAFEGUARD Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) program. “~ Following release of the generators by the Arny 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 .*9 Unloading of the COOL BARGE was completed on 16 May 1974, 46 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 Malmstrom PAR [SAFEGUARD phased array radar] hardware, particularly major assemblies, for any appropriate Air Force . 748 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 49 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 . 50 . prime contractor as government-furnished equipment (GFE). ESD estimated the cost savings to the government resulting from this action at approximately $260,000.°> t ocean em paste REA EE DENSI saver p oer ne | | |
13 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 1974.22 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 .>4 On 16 April 1974, a special COBRA DANE COOL BARGE, loaded with approximately 6,000 tons of construction material, as well as‘ the four Cooper-Bessemer generators and ancillary equipment necessary for the Shemya power plant upgrade effort, departed Seattle for
Fire pump house and water tank at Shemya AFB. 14 te na. - oy;
15 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- ticated 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
16 '"3¥D DAY ° 9/19/74 CE 42263 Work completed on outer steel shell of radar facility and PMEL building.
17 arranged. °4 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. °4 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. °8 A small, rocky, precipitous atoll in the Bering Sea, Alaid Island is situated approximately ten miles northwest of Shemya , . 69 and accessible onlv hy 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. “2 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 compietely destroyed by fire while being transported by truck to Seattie 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 aireraft.’? 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 guv 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, 5 for a period of two to three hours per visit.
20 ¢ « ‘ = ay tower on Alaid Island. i1on ibrat 65-foot high cal
21 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 1974.77 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 8:1 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 (TOC) date which would otherwise have slipped by 75 davs and increased pro- gram costs bv $1.5 million. Cost of the ESD-issued change order was not to exceed $95,000..”
22 wet ee eee See cores a OR esa mts areas Tee CS a oe COOL BARGE being unloaded at Shemya dock.
EE SSS SSS~?TWsCS:~C)_~;«<#CéCi I 23 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 W. 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 81 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, revorted the "The runway is broken about 4,000 feet from the East end and has a drop of 4 inches 183 to 10 inches. With only 6,000 feet of the main runway in usable condition, the C-141 SAAM of CO3RA DANE prime mission equipment
24 scheduled for 3 February 1975 was cancelled and a MAC survey team was dispatched to evaluate the ability of tne main runway at Shemya to support C-141 and C-5A aircraft.°” Second Shemya Island Earthquake On 8 February, Shemya wae hit by a second earthquake that regis~ 85 tered 5.8 on the Richter scale. "TY 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 damage 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- eraft on 15 February. °° 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.” 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 1975.74 COBRA DANE Power Problem While still occupied in assessing the amount of damage inflicted by the two massive earthquakes which struck Shemya, ESD was once again confronted with the nagging problem of obtaining sufficient
—— ll s—Ot 8S 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 Shemya power 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 10C [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. °4 This was later revised to $825,000." 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 resuli 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
26 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 and transformer interface equipment to Shemya on 29 Apri1.?° 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 comaenced 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. 100 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. 2°? 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
CC OO « 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 had been moved into position on the third floor 10? Progress on construction of the PMEL building was equally im- pressive. As of 5 June, the placement of floor tile was completed, 50 percent of the ceilings were installed, all telephone and speaker wires were in place, installation of PA speakers was 60 percent fin- ished, and outside lighting, computer room duct work, demineralized water mains, and installacion of the ten-inch fire main were all com~ plete. With the exception of painting, completion date for the PMEL building was scheduled for 15 June 1975. 203 Total acquisition costs for the COBRA DANE program, as of 1 July 1975, were estimated at $68.1 million. +04 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- 105 These included a com- taneously in the software development area. 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,
28 allowing wide flexibility in the use of pulse widths dnd pulse repe-  eition rates. Unfortunately, this particular concept proved te 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 template approach did fulfill system requirements. 10° On 16 May, Colonel Coraine notified the ESD Command Section that: 1°? We are becoming increasingly concerned about whether or not software problems can be solved in time to allow adherence to the currently scheduled I0C [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. 18 Among the software development difficulties which posed a potentially ad- verse impact on the scheduled IOC date, the COBRA DANE SPO high- lighted the fact that :199 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 haui 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 10C 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" 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 e software development and their impact, if any, on the program's 112 This assessment, conducted by a team com- scheduled milestones. prised of software experts from ESD, ADCOM,* RADC, and Lincoln Lab- oratory, commenced on 18 August and was completed on 10 September 1975.13 | 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 AFSC 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 early warning and SPACETRACK, with a slip in IOC date. 114 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 = 115 Ferce assessment of software development problems. *On 1 July 1975, the designation for the Aerospace Defense Com- mand was changed from ADC to ADCOM.
39 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-zo 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 term, when COBRA DANE would be operating 24 hours a day. 116 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. 12? 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 serious damage was done to the COBRA DANE facility or equipment. 128 Issuance of RFP for COBRA DANE Operations and Maintenance (O&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 full year following system toc. 119 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-
31 supplied operation, maintenance, and logistics support of the COBRA DANE system, ADCOM would assume funding responsibility for opera- tion and maintenance (0&M), with Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) bearing responsibility for providing wholesale logistics support. 22° At the end of 1975, ESD anticipated receipt of Raytheon's response to the RFP sometime early in January 1976, 121 Three days after the issuance of the RFP, MAC's special airlift” mission of COBRA DANE prime mission equipment -- begun in February 1975 -- was completed .124 On 4 December, the Cyber 74-18 computer was delivered to Shemya on board a C-141 aircraft. 19 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- tors. 22° AS a consequence, the government was unable to fulfill the contractor's power requirements on 15 December 1975 for the first time. 146 In January 1976, problems experienced with the interim power supplied by the eight WRM generators continued to have an adverse
32 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 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- connected and readied for return shipment to Holloman arp. +78 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 »rogram first began. AS the program evolved, however, the requirements for core memory exceeded capabil- ity by 33 percent. 1? On 27 January 1976, PQT began for the mission computer program and the simulation computer program. In this, as in earlier soft- 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
33 COBRA DANE program. 71 Headquarters USAF approved this recommenda- tion on 18 June 1976.17? 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 the second computer, on 24 September. 173 The second computer was put into operation on 15 November and successfully alleviated the 134 core memory problem. Change to COBRA DANE Initial Operational Capability (IOC) Date As a result of the problems experienced with the COBRA DANE nower supply and the computer cere memory, ESD and Raytheon negotia- ted an ECP to the prime contract in June 1976 which changed the pro- jected IOC date from 6 March 1976 to 31 October 1976.1 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 0&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 0&M contract for COBRA pang. 137 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 23 July when the radar at Shemva , . . . - . r w detected and tracked a Soviet missile launch. “hereas COBRA DANE
eee 35 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 successfully detected and tracked a second Soviet missile daunch. }38 COBRA DANE System Testing System testing of COBRA DANE commenced on 28 October 1976 with power being supplied by the upgraded AAC power plant at Shemya. 1°? System performance testing, which included subsystem performance, logistical review, SPACETRACK and eariy warning capavility, 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. 17? 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. 14? ESD 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 1977.03 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 0&™ support..." On 25-27 January 1977, plan- ning for turnover/transition of the COBRA DANE system began between ESD and apcom. 14?
36 Turnover/Transition of COBRA DANE from ESD to ADCOM and AFLC The actual turnover/transition of the COBRA DANE system occurred on 13 July 1977 when representatives from ADCOM, AFLC, and ESD signed the COBRA DANE System Turnover Certificate. 1*6 This document provided for the formal turnover of system responsibility for COBRA DANE from ESD to apcom. 14? in addition, this event marked the IOC date for COBRA pane. +48 Program Management Responsibility Transfer (PMRT) of the radar system from ESD to the Sacramento Air Logistics Center (SM-ALC) cf AFLC for logistics support occurred on l October. 49 According to Mr. O'Mahony : 2°? 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 trangferred without any residual Program Management Responsibility Transfer tasks. System Description The competed COBRA DANE radar facility measured 110 feet in 151 height, 10& feet in width, and 85 feet in length. The radar's clocklike face, 96 feet in diameter and slanted 20 degrees, con- : 152 ec tained 34,768 sensors attached to 96 antenna plates. Of these censors, 15,350 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-
37 Air Force specialist traces missile flight on control data grid display within the COBRA DANE radar complex.
ad 8 controlled patterns, COBRA DANE could detect and track orbiting ob- jects at very high speeds involving fractions of a second, 14 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 Shemya. 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. 1° The estimated final acquisition cost of the COBRA DANE system, as of 19 July 1978, was placed at $71.3 million. ??” The fact that COBRA DANE IOC and turnover to ADCOM occurred sev- eral months behind schedule has distracted little from the overall 158 consensus that the program was an extremely successful effort. "Believe me," Mr. O'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 peonle 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 the program: There's satisfaction that goes with it all. We took a ra~ dar svstem we knew would work, made it bigser and more nowerful i i i £ a a ft EDIE AEF Seite as Ae NOR Ie tetaene
Close-up view of COBRA DANE's clocklike face containing 34,768 sensors attached to. 6 antenna plates. 39
40 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. "261