In January 1958, the U.S. Army launched the first successful satellite Explorer 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This revolutionary event established the requirement of a much-needed test range to support future aerial, missile, and space experimentation. This week the army celebrates its 248th birthday and continues to break barriers and lead the way in space and missile defense. In celebration of the U.S. Army’s leadership and profound focus of missile defense, it is important to recognize the significance and origins of White Sands Missile Range, and how it has become the most storied missile range and test site for the U.S. Army.
The importance of White Sands Missile Range has proven its value ten-fold over the last 60+ years. The cornerstone of air and missile defense testing, White Sands’ first experimentation centered around the atomic bomb. Upon completion of the first atomic bomb test and ultimate use in August of 1945 during World War II against the Japanese, it was demonstrated out of necessity that White Sands would serve as the Army’s premiere missile test range.
Air and missile defense lessons learned from World War II helped solidify early on the mission White Sands would serve. Defeating German capabilities such as the V2 rocket, long range bombers, and fighter aircraft, the U.S. Army and White Sands Missile Range would follow up atomic bomb testing with future experimentation and testing of weapon systems. This led to the development of anti-missile systems capable of defeating intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) such as the Nike Zeus, a much needed capability intended to defend the continental United States against Soviet attack during the Cold War years of the 1950s – 1970s.
Following the Vietnam War, testing and experimentation began at White Sands Missile Range on what would become known as the Patriot air defense artillery weapon system. Initially designed to defeat manned aerial platforms, the U.S. Army’s most formidable weapon system which still exists in today’s conventional force is capable of defeating fixed-wing aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, and higher-altitude unmanned airframes. Through a number of system software, hardware upgrades, and interceptor improvements, the Patriot weapon has provided defensive fires supporting operations worldwide since 1991.
Leveraging lessons learned from previous conflicts, technology improvements, and the ever changing character of war, White Sands Missile Range has been the cornerstone for missile defense testing and experimentation. The introduction of the terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) system in the mid-90s to improve joint and combined testing and experimentation using 4th and 5th generation aircraft, as well, as maritime assets, continues today. The integration of multi-domain capabilities through technical means has proven instrumental, leading to success on the battlefield. And as the U.S. Army missile defense community continues to develop future capabilities such as the integrated air and missile defense battlefield communications system (IBCS), White Sands Missile Range will lead this charge.
The Army introduced exercise Roving Sands, a three-week-long joint air defense exercise for defense of the maneuvering force held at White Sands to certify the units of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command. Held annually from 1989 to 2005, the training was revitalized in 2018 with the most recent training event taking place in May of 2022. Units are able to conduct crew certifications in simulated austere environments, similar to what troops would experience on a deployment to the Middle East.
The event brings together Thaad, Patriot, and Avenger systems, and for the first time during the 2022 event 1st Armored Division, a maneuver unit was brought in to serve as the Corps-level command. The purpose of this change was to rehearse integrating fires and maneuver elements in order to establish greater interoperability and accuracy in future conflicts
In March 2022, during a Thaad weapon system flight test (FTT)-21, The Missile Defense Agency in collaboration with other partners conducted the first successful test of a software build that linked Thaad with Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors at White Sands.
Work continues today at White Sands, with 3-6 Air Defense Artillery Battalion continuing to test the IBCS, a system that will combine the anti-air and missile defense capabilities of the new LTAMD radars with MSE interceptors to fully utilize the range of the LTAMD radars.
After 76 years and more than 42,000 rocket and missile tests, the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range is the future for game-changing technologies and weapon systems that will best deter world wars and provide the generational lead on air and missile defense for the United States Army.
· Hypersonic/long-range systems
· Directed energy
· Swarming autonomous/unmanned systems
· Integrated air and missile defense
· Space test support and satellite environmental testing
· Nuclear weapons effects testing.
White Sands Missile Range today is led by Brigadier General Eric D. Little conducting over 3,000 tests annually for the joint force.
