The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have signed a combined operation concept agreement to support the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability, or DARC, network of three ground-based sensors.
According to the U.S. signatory, Brig. Gen. Chandler Atwood of U.S. Space Operations Command, DARC provides a “critical capability” for all three countries’ defense. “Enhanced defense capabilities, including DARC, enables better conflict deterrence, as well as supports stability and strategic balance globally,” he said. The other signatories are Michael Hunt, assistant secretary for the Space Systems Branch at the Australian Department of Defence, and Commodore Anthony Williams, director of space capability at U.K. Space Command.
Under the agreement, the three DARC partners will tap emerging technologies to maximize mutual benefits and boost collaboration in the network’s space surveillance activities. According to SpOC, the trilateral partnership will also facilitate the sharing and utilization of all DARC-derived global sensor data.
Progress Reports on Two Sites
The first of DARC’s three sites, located in Exmouth, West Australia, was completed in December, three months ahead of schedule. Northrop Grumman, contractor for the Australian site under a $341 million award, booked another contract valued at $200 million in August to develop the network’s second site at the U.K. Cawdor Barracks in southwest Wales.
The U.S. Space Force has yet to announce the third DARC location, which will be in U.S. territory, but all three systems are expected to be operational by 2030.
The AUKUS agreement for the space surveillance program was formalized in December 2023. Its memorandum of understanding provides for a 22-year collaboration between the partner countries in a 24/7, all-weather system for an intensified monitoring of objects in deep space.