PAVE PAWS (Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment Phased Array Warning System)

FPS-115 Long-Range Missile Detection Radar Set forms the central radar system of PAVE PAWS. A long-range missile detection radar set built by Raytheon in the late 1970s. It detects sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM)¹ . The FPS-115 has a reported range of 3,000 miles² .

The initial concept had two FPS-115 systems deployed in the continental United States in 1980, one on the east coast at Cape Cod AFS and one on the west coast at Beale AFB. The concept expanded in the mid-1980s with two more sites, one at Dobbins AFB in Georgia and one at Eldorado AFS in Texas. Coincident with the end of the Cold War, both of the latter sites were closed in 1995. The Air Force moved the equipment at Eldorado AFS to Clear AFS in Alaska to replace the FPS-50.

Additional FPS-115 PAVE PAWS radars were installed in the 1990s at BMEWS sites in Thule, Greenland, and Fylingdale Moor, England.

Missile warning and attack characterization data is sent to the U.S. Missile Warning and Space Control Centers, the U.S. National Military Command Center and U.S. Strategic Command. Satellite tracking data is sent to the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) for processing. Present-day PAVE PAWS installations operate as part of the United States Space Force³ .

One of the PAVE PAWS Radars has been modified to support missile defense. U.S. and Canadian personnel operate both systems. One of the PAVE PAWS has a co-primary mission to provide missile tracking data to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) GMD Fire Control Center (GFC/C) while simultaneously providing Missile Warning Data to the Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment (ITW/AA) system.