MENLO PARK, CA, 10 December 2024 — LeoLabs, the world's leading mission partner for persistent Orbital Intelligence, today announced its seventh operational radar site. Located in Arizona, United States (U.S.), this is the first installation of LeoLabs' next-generation Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radar technology, which will unlock the advanced capabilities required to discover and respond to growing threats in space.
LeoLabs' new UHF Planar Direct Radiating Array (DRA) radar will enhance the company's object detection, tracking, and analytic capabilities in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) by integrating with its existing global radar network. The new 3D pulse Doppler radar enables scanning in two dimensions for a wider field of regard.
The Arizona radar site will serve as a testbed for advanced capabilities, including maintaining custody of highly maneuverable space objects, detecting non-cooperative launch activity, and tracking objects in VLEO and those nearing re-entry. This is also an initial step in LeoLabs' development of capabilities to potentially detect and track missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles.