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The operates and maintains the facility with contractor support. They are primarily responsible for detecting sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) fired from submarines in the Pacific Ocean and ICBMs launched toward North America. The operations component of the unit then determines how many missiles were launched and their probable targets, and reports that to: This unit helps form a two-layered, worldwide network of missile warning systems. This is a warning mission only without any interception or destruction component.
 * North American Aerospace Defense Command's missile warning center, Peterson Air Force Base.
 * U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base.
 * National Command Authorities.

The also supports the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBMD) element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). This program's objective is the defense of the United States against a threat of a limited strategic ballistic missile attack. The FPS-132 UEWR detects, acquires, and tracks inbound missiles to provide the necessary data to classify and engage the targets. This target data allows the GMD Fire Control and Communications element to generate a weapons task plan, allowing for the engagement, interception, and negation of threat of a ballistic missile reentry vehicle in the exoatmospheric region of space. This is the interception/destruction mission conducted under the auspice of the Missile Defense Agency since its establishment in 2002.

The helps track earth-orbiting satellites, and reports the information to the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. This information is then combined with information from other sensors to form a satellite catalog that tracks the more than 16,000 objects in orbit.