New Radar at Minot Air Force Base Published June 17, 2009 By 2nd Lt. Kidron Vestal Deputy Chief, Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Construction began here June 15 for a digital airport surveillance radar--a Raytheon technical services initiative at advancing our air traffic control abilities. It is the "newest technology," agreed a room of project officers. Several hundred million dollars and five years of work are involved, said Roger Lafollette, a crew member out of Kansas City, Mo. The National Aerospace Upgrade Program is the genesis for this changeover from analog to digital--Minot Air Force Base is the last of two radars in the Air Force that require this change. The Air Force will own and maintain this new equipment. Site engineer Terrance L Spande said the maintenance is one half hour a week; the engine generator "checks itself." The 5th Communications Squadron will otherwise monitor it. Efficiency in human resources is not where the benefits end. The system is energy effective. The radar being replaced uses one half a megabyte of power. The device radiates 20 kilowatts at the same rate. Some of the other improvements include being able to track 1000+ targets, identifying a flock of birds, and noticing weather phenomenon better, said the gentlemen. The first test site for the DASR was Eglin AFB, Fla., but the first production system was at Laughlin AFB, Texas, said Lafollette. The GPN-12, the current radar, was installed no later than 1973. The new radar will be housed in adjoining pre-fab buildings and is expected to be operational September 2010, said Spande. For more information on the progress of the construction, please contact Public Affairs at 723-6212.