By BlueShift | 2025-08-28

With the success of a recent test on Western Australia's Exmouth peninsula, the trilateral Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) initiative is on the way to becoming the world's most capable deep-space tracking radar system.

The United States, United Kingdom and Australia announced the DARC initiative in December 2023, after signing an agreement in September of that year.

The 22-year accord "is a practical example of what the partners can achieve when working together to enhance mutual defense capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region," the US Space Force said in a statement.

DARC is a next-generation ground system designed to ensure security and stability in deep space, via an all-weather, global system to track very small objects in geosynchronous orbit in order to protect critical satellite services.

During the mid-August test, multiple ground-based antennas were successfully combined to operate as a single system, according to Calibre Defense.

The test involved the tracking and characterization of several satellites, demonstrating DARC's effectiveness in monitoring multiple small moving objects over 22,000 miles (36,000km) above Earth, continuously and in all weathers.

It showcased technology capable of tracking spacecraft that could potentially threaten space assets or the security of the three partners and allied nations.

The achievement marks a significant step toward completing the first of several planned DARC sites and bringing the system to full operational capability.

Round-the-clock monitoring

Designed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the DARC system is being built by primary contractor Northrop Grumman, with contracts awarded by the US Space Forces Systems Command.

The system consists of a network of ground-based antennas that operate as one, with radar technology designed to function even in the weather and daylight conditions that can impair the performance of traditional telescopic systems.

DARC will support other space surveillance assets such as telescopes and radars situated around the globe, and in orbit. It also will be combined with commercial capabilities that enable the movement and launch of satellites to be tracked.

The system is intended to complement the existing elements of the US Space Domain Awareness architecture and overcome their limitations, according to the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability.

It will monitor satellites in geosynchronous orbit between three strategically spaced transmit/receive sites at mid-latitudes around the world to detect, track and maintain custody of deep space objects.

Three sites around the globe

Construction was completed at the western Australia DARC site (Site 1) in December 2024, and the site is expected to become fully operational in 2027.

Site 2 will be situated at Cawdor Barracks -- a UK Ministry of Defense site in Pembrokeshire, Wales -- pending environmental and town planning approval.

Site 3 will be a yet-to-be determined location in the continental United States, with all three sites expected to be operational by the end of the decade.

The rapid development of Site 1 has been a priority for both US Space Command and IndoPacific Command, according to the Nautilus Institute.

The facility will be operated remotely by US and Australian forces.

For the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Site 1 is an element in Operation Dyurra, a dedicated space operation that integrates space capabilities, services and effects into wider operations.

No details have been released about ADF operational involvement with Site 1, but it is likely that the ADF’s Defence Space Command No. 1 Space Surveillance Unit (1SSU) will be involved, per Nautilus.

No. 1 Space Surveillance Unit operates Australia’s space domain capabilities, including the Space Surveillance Telescope and Space Surveillance Radar.