Nike Zeus Battery Control and Missile Tracking Radars

Marshall Islands / Kwajalein / Enubuj /
 building, radar station
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Much of the Kwajalein Island landscape exists to support the US Army's efforts to develop a successful anti-ballistic missile system. This started in the early 1960s with their Nike Zeus system, which took up a significant portion of the western side of the island.

This building, the Battery Control, housed the computers that calculated the impact point between the incoming ICBM warhead and the outgoing Zeus missiles. The Zeus was equipped with a small transponder so it could easily be tracked by small and very simple radars, the Missile Tracking Radar (MTR). These were mounted on circular pedestals on the Battery Control building, they can just be made out on the south (bottom) side of the building.

The small radome to the west of the building (left) is unidentified, but can be seen in images from the 1960s.
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Coordinates:   8°43'23"N   167°43'10"E
This article was last modified 11 years ago