WASHINGTON: A powerful US military sea-based
radar is now in place to detect any possible
missile launches by North Korea, according to a
senior US defence official.
"The SBX is in position," the defence official, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP late
Wednesday.
The official would not offer more details but
confirmed the SBX, a floating X-band radar that
resembles a giant golf ball, had reached a location
at sea where it could track missiles fired by the
Pyongyang regime.
US and South Korean forces remain on heightened
alert amid expectations North Korea will launch a
missile or multiple missiles before the April 15
celebrations for the birthday of the North's late
founder, Kim Il-Sung.
The United States has already bolstered its
missile defences in the region to help protect
allies South Korea and Japan, as well as US bases
in Guam.
Two US Arleigh-class destroyers have been sent to
the western Pacific with anti-missile weaponry
while ground-based THAAD interceptor batteries
had been deployed to Guam, a US territory about
3,380 kilometres (2,100 miles) southeast of North
Korea.
The US military also staged shows of force as part
of drills with South Korea, with over-flights by
B-52 and B-2 bombers as well as sophisticated
F-22 fighter jets.
The floating X-band radar, which sits atop a
platform similar to an oil rig, had been stationed
at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.
The SBX radar, which is 85 metres (280 feet) tall
and operated by civilian contractors, is supposed
to detect missile launches over a range of at least
2,000 kilometres.

www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/us-radar-in-place-to/635142.html


Kayaknya ini radar pas buat di natuna + ambalat