Out of This World

Video by Staff Sgt. Jared Bunn, Paul Honnick

Upgraded Early Warning Radar Facility B-roll

Space Base Delta 1

Aug. 10, 2022 | 14:35

U.S. Space Force Master Sgt. Samuel Basham, the 12th Space Warning Squadron senior enlisted leader, takes us on a tour of the Upgraded Early Warning Radar facility at Thule Air Base, Greenland, Aug. 10, 2022. Basham walks us through the facility and into the radar tower, featuring thousands of nodes that constantly scan the horizon over the North Pole for missile launches. B-roll also includes timelapses and exterior footage of the facility, as well as shots of the heritage room, where departing 12 SWS members leave messages on the wall for future members.

Located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle at Thule AB, UEWR is a two-sided, solid-state phased-array radar system with 240 degrees of coverage and operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by U.S. and Canadian military and contractors. 12 SWS, a component of Space Delta 4 - Missile Warning, is part of the Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment network, which provides early warning of ballistic missile launches to national command authorities via the Missile Warning Center and North American Aerospace Defense Command. (U.S. Space Force video by Paul Honnick and Staff Sgt. Jared Bunn)