Pacific Missile Range Facility
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands
is a U.S. Naval facility and airport
located five nautical mile
s (9 km) northwest of the central business district
of Kekaha
, in Kauai County
, Hawaii
, United States
.
PMRF is the world's largest instrumented, multi-dimensional testing and training missile range
. US Military and subcontractors
favor its relative isolation, ideal year-round tropical climate
and encroachment
-free environment (see "PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative" below). It is the only range in the world where submarine
s, surface ship
s, aircraft
and space vehicles can operate and be tracked
simultaneously. There are over 1100 square miles (2,849 km²) of instrumented underwater range and over 42000 square miles (108,779.5 km²) of controlled airspace
. The base itself covers roughly 2,385 acres (9.7 km²).
The base includes a 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) runway with operations and maintenance facilities. It has roughly 70 housing units and various recreational facilities for those who can access the base.
The base has support facilities at Port Allen, Makaha Ridge, and Koke'e State Park
. The base also uses a portion of the nearby island of Niihau
for a remotely operated APS-134 surveillance radar
, an 1100 acre (4.5 km²) Test Vehicle Recovery Site, the Perch Electronic Warfare site, multiple EW Portable Simulator sites, and a Helicopter Terrain Flight training course.
was acquired by the Kekaha Sugar Company and became a runway for private planes. The U.S. Army acquired the land in 1940, named it Mana Airport, and paved the runway. Additional land acquired in 1941 expanded the facility to 2058 acres (8.3 km²). Private airlines frequently utilized the airport, and World War II
incurred a great deal of military flight operations. The base was officially designated Bonham Air Force Base in 1954. U.S. Navy operations at Bonham began in 1956, with testing of the Regulus I missile. In 1958, the Pacific Missile Range Facility was established to support the growing demand of the Navy at Bonham. In 1964, the Pacific Missile Range Facility and Bonham was transferred to the Navy, becoming Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands.
In 1962, the U.S. military conducted the Frigate Bird Test of the Operation Dominic program near PMRF. The military launched an operational ballistic missile
with a live warhead from the , which was situated near PMRF. The nuclear warhead
flew toward Christmas Island
and detonated in an air burst
at 11000 feet (3,352.8 m).
The Navy is currently using PMRF to test hit to kill technology using direct collision of the anti-ballistic missile
with its target. This destroys the target by using only kinetic energy
from the force of the collision. The two Missile Defense Agency
programs that currently utilize the range at PMRF are the Navy's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
and the Army's
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
System, or THAAD. The THAAD program relocated their testing operations from the White Sands Missile Range
in New Mexico
and conducted its first demonstration at PMRF on 26 January 2007.
On 27 April 2007, the U.S. military's sea-based missile defense system, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, showed it could intercept two targets simultaneously when it destroyed a cruise missile
and a short-range ballistic missile
during a test off the Hawaii
an island of Kauai. The test marked eight out of ten times the Missile Defense Agency
and U.S. Navy's Aegis missile defense system successfully intercepted its target, but was the first time the system knocked out two targets at the same time.
fields, which was wholly compatible with operations at PMRF. Since Kekaha Sugar's closure, the Navy has become wary of "encroachment", incompatible developments, that might occur on the land next to the base. In order to ensure that PMRF can continue to safely conduct important research and training operations in the future, the Navy and some citizens of Kauai are seeking to permanently preserve the land adjacent to PMRF for agricultural purposes. Under the PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative the Navy would have the roughly 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land adjacent to PMRF preserved solely for agricultural use. Although the Navy has stated that it would like to lease about 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land, it has also stated that its main goal is not to purchase more land but to merely ensure the land continues to be used for agricultural purposes.
ICBM's toward Hawaii, the United States has temporarily deployed THAAD
missile batteries to the facility.
Barking Sands
Barking Sands is a beach on the island of Kauaʻi in the US state of Hawaiʻi. It is the location of Pacific Missile Range Facility, a rocket launch site and also an official Missile Defense Testing Area, both controlled by the United States Navy....
is a U.S. Naval facility and airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located five nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s (9 km) northwest of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Kekaha
Kekaha, Hawaii
Kekaha is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,175 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, in Kauai County
Kauai County, Hawaii
Kauai County is a county located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Kauai, Niihau, Lehua, and Kaula, in the state of Hawaii. As of 2000 Census the population was 58,463...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
PMRF is the world's largest instrumented, multi-dimensional testing and training missile range
Missile range
Missile range may refer to the following:* Missile Range Instrumentation Ship* Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division* Ballistic missiles classified according to their range...
. US Military and subcontractors
Defense contractor
A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...
favor its relative isolation, ideal year-round tropical climate
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
and encroachment
Encroachment
Encroachment is a term which implies "advance beyond proper limits," and may have different interpretations depending on the context. Encroachment may refer to one of the following:* Temporal encroachment* Structural encroachment...
-free environment (see "PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative" below). It is the only range in the world where submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s, surface ship
Surface ship
A surface ship is any type of naval ship that is confined to the surface of the sea. The term is primarily used to mean any modern vessel type that is not a submarine; although a "surface ship" may range in size from a cutter to an aircraft carrier, the weapons and tactics have some commonality,...
s, aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and space vehicles can operate and be tracked
Tracking
Tracking can refer to:*Tracking , separating children into different classes according to their academic ability*Tracking, in computer graphics, a vital part of match moving...
simultaneously. There are over 1100 square miles (2,849 km²) of instrumented underwater range and over 42000 square miles (108,779.5 km²) of controlled airspace
Controlled airspace
Controlled airspace is an aviation term used to describe airspace in which ATChas the authority to control air traffic, the level of which varies with the different classes of airspace. Controlled airspace is established mainly for three different reasons:...
. The base itself covers roughly 2,385 acres (9.7 km²).
The base includes a 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) runway with operations and maintenance facilities. It has roughly 70 housing units and various recreational facilities for those who can access the base.
The base has support facilities at Port Allen, Makaha Ridge, and Koke'e State Park
Koke'e State Park
Kōkee State Park is located in northwestern Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. It includes a museum at the marker on State Road 550, which focuses on the weather, vegetation, and bird life; a lodge which serves food and sells gifts; cabins for rent; and hiking trails...
. The base also uses a portion of the nearby island of Niihau
Niihau
Niihau or Niihau is the seventh largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Niihau lies southwest of Kauai across the Kaulakahi Channel. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian Coot, the Black-winged Stilt, and the...
for a remotely operated APS-134 surveillance radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, an 1100 acre (4.5 km²) Test Vehicle Recovery Site, the Perch Electronic Warfare site, multiple EW Portable Simulator sites, and a Helicopter Terrain Flight training course.
History
In 1921, the land area known as the Barking SandsBarking Sands
Barking Sands is a beach on the island of Kauaʻi in the US state of Hawaiʻi. It is the location of Pacific Missile Range Facility, a rocket launch site and also an official Missile Defense Testing Area, both controlled by the United States Navy....
was acquired by the Kekaha Sugar Company and became a runway for private planes. The U.S. Army acquired the land in 1940, named it Mana Airport, and paved the runway. Additional land acquired in 1941 expanded the facility to 2058 acres (8.3 km²). Private airlines frequently utilized the airport, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
incurred a great deal of military flight operations. The base was officially designated Bonham Air Force Base in 1954. U.S. Navy operations at Bonham began in 1956, with testing of the Regulus I missile. In 1958, the Pacific Missile Range Facility was established to support the growing demand of the Navy at Bonham. In 1964, the Pacific Missile Range Facility and Bonham was transferred to the Navy, becoming Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands.
Missile tests
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
with a live warhead from the , which was situated near PMRF. The nuclear warhead
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
flew toward Christmas Island
Kiritimati
Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and part of the Republic of Kiribati....
and detonated in an air burst
Air burst
An air burst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target or a delayed armor piercing explosion....
at 11000 feet (3,352.8 m).
The Navy is currently using PMRF to test hit to kill technology using direct collision of the anti-ballistic missile
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles .A ballistic missile is used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter...
with its target. This destroys the target by using only kinetic energy
Kinetic energy
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
from the force of the collision. The two Missile Defense Agency
Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. The agency has its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was established in 1983 and was headed by Lt...
programs that currently utilize the range at PMRF are the Navy's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide defense against ballistic missiles. It is part of the United States national missile defense strategy...
and the Army's
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense , formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is a United States Army system to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate ballistic missiles in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill approach. The missile carries no warhead but relies on the kinetic energy...
System, or THAAD. The THAAD program relocated their testing operations from the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and conducted its first demonstration at PMRF on 26 January 2007.
On 27 April 2007, the U.S. military's sea-based missile defense system, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, showed it could intercept two targets simultaneously when it destroyed a cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
and a short-range ballistic missile
Short-range ballistic missile
A short-range ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a range of about 1,000 km or less. They are usually capable of carrying nuclear weapons. In potential regional conflicts, these missiles would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their relative low cost...
during a test off the Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an island of Kauai. The test marked eight out of ten times the Missile Defense Agency
Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. The agency has its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was established in 1983 and was headed by Lt...
and U.S. Navy's Aegis missile defense system successfully intercepted its target, but was the first time the system knocked out two targets at the same time.
PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative
The Navy is currently working with the State of Hawaii and Kauai County to ensure the long-term viability of PMRF. For many decades, the land adjacent to PMRF was used for sugarcaneSugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
fields, which was wholly compatible with operations at PMRF. Since Kekaha Sugar's closure, the Navy has become wary of "encroachment", incompatible developments, that might occur on the land next to the base. In order to ensure that PMRF can continue to safely conduct important research and training operations in the future, the Navy and some citizens of Kauai are seeking to permanently preserve the land adjacent to PMRF for agricultural purposes. Under the PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative the Navy would have the roughly 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land adjacent to PMRF preserved solely for agricultural use. Although the Navy has stated that it would like to lease about 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land, it has also stated that its main goal is not to purchase more land but to merely ensure the land continues to be used for agricultural purposes.
Operational deployment of THAAD
During times when North Korea threathens to launch Taepodong-2Taepodong-2
The Taepodong-2 is a designation used to indicate a North Korean two or three-stage ballistic missile design that is the successor to the Taepodong-1.-Details:...
ICBM's toward Hawaii, the United States has temporarily deployed THAAD
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense , formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is a United States Army system to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate ballistic missiles in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill approach. The missile carries no warhead but relies on the kinetic energy...
missile batteries to the facility.
See also
- Eastern Test RangeEastern Test RangeThe Eastern Range is an American rocket range that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center. The range has also supported Ariane launches from the Guiana Space Centre as well as providing support...
- WWVHWWVHWWVH is the callsign of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's shortwave radio time signal station in Kekaha, on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii....
, a time signalTime signalA time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day.-Audible and visible time signals:...
radio stationRadio stationRadio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
on the grounds of the PMRF - Hawaii World War II Army Airfields
External links
- Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, official website
- PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative
- NMB Barking Sands Installation Overview at NavyUSA.org
- Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) / NS Barking Sands at GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...