Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line

A 1952 Summer Study conducted by scientists, engineers, and military personnel to evaluate North America's air defense concluded that the continent was vulnerable to attack from over the North Pole. The SAGE system, already in the planning stages, would offer the capability of detecting, identifying, tracking, and intercepting incoming aircraft; however, to be truly effective, the system would need early warning of those approaching airplanes.

The proposed response to the Study's concern was the construction of an early warning radar and communications network stretched along the Arctic rim of the continent. The network was named the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line.

One of teh DEW Line radar sitesOne of the DEW Line radar sites

The arctic environment posed numerous challenges to the builders of the system. Frequent solar disturbances could disrupt communications; the climate and isolation of the region discouraged potential staffing; and the extreme weather and frozen terrain made construction and protection of the radars difficult.

The Laboratory was instrumental in providing solutions to these challenges. MIT and Lincoln Laboratory researchers had already developed a form of long-range communication—VHF ionospheric-scatter propagation—which was not susceptible to solar disturbances. Because the Laboratory's automatic alerting radar sounded an alarm whenever an aircraft entered the surveillance area, technicians were freed from providing 24-hour vigilance, thereby reducing the number of staff required to operate a site.

Geodesic radomeGeodesic radome

The extreme temperature and winds posed the most serious problem: what kind of radome could withstand this environment? Lincoln Laboratory’s answer was a rigid, electromagnetically transparent geodesic dome. The prototype radome was tested on the roof of the Laboratory's Building C. When the test became more rigorous than anticipated because of the arrival of Hurricane Carol, the rigid radome performed admirably. This type of radome is still used today.

In October 1962, the DEW Line was completed, giving the Air Force a 6000-mile radar surveillance chain and cementing Lincoln Laboratory's reputation as a provider of technological solutions.

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