08/28/2026
- 28 August 2002: The modernized Target Resolution and Discrimination Experiment (TRADEX) radar successfully tracked its first satellite. This achievement marked a major milestone in the Kwajalein Modernization and Remoting (KMAR) program, a five-year initiative launched in 1997 to upgrade all four radars at the Reagan Test Site (RTS) on Roi-Namur Island on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific. TRADEX was the final radar to be modernized under this program, with its upgrade completed in January 2003.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) originally developed TRADEX in the early 1960s as part of Project PRESS (Pacific Range Electromagnetic Signature Studies) to track intercontinental ballistic missiles and collect high-resolution data on reentry vehicles. By the late 1970s, TRADEX expanded its capabilities to include space surveillance, and a 1995 upgrade enabled it to assess the space debris population at low latitudes.
The KMAR program introduced the Radar Open Systems Architecture , which replaced the radars’ aging, custom-built systems with modular, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and general-purpose computers. This modernization improved reliability, reduced maintenance costs, and enabled remote operation of the radars. Before KMAR, each radar had unique hardware and no shared spare parts, requiring dedicated teams of engineers and technicians to operate and maintain the systems. By standardizing the systems, the KMAR team achieved significant improvements, reducing the software code by 70 percent and the amount of custom hardware by 80 percent, while using 85 percent COTS hardware.
Today, TRADEX continues to support vital missions, including tracking intercontinental ballistic missile launches, monitoring new satellite deployments, and observing deep-space objects.
