Pentagon Tests High-Frequency Radar System in Alaska, Detects Aircraft Beyond Conventional Range

The Department of Defense wrapped up a three-year Arctic surveillance program that combined the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) transmitter in Fairbanks with a low-cost receiver array installed in Cold Bay, Alaska. In September’s live-flight tests, aircraft with known positions—including an E-3 Sentry, a C-130 Hercules and a KC-135 Stratotanker—were tracked over the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea, showing detection beyond visual line-of-sight and beyond the horizon of conventional radars.

Defence Research and Development Canada collaborated on the trials. Officials reported that the experiment met or exceeded its objectives, indicating that high-frequency techniques could help fill surveillance gaps in Alaska’s vast and rugged airspace, which challenges ground-based radars due to terrain and curvature. The Pentagon will now conduct a comprehensive review to assess reliability and operational value. If refined, the technology could augment existing sensors and boost NORAD’s situational awareness of Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic region.