Defense turns off radar in Nieuw-Milligen after 52 years

NOS News•today, 7:02 PM

Defense has permanently turned off the radar in Nieuw-Milligen after 52 years. The machine was last used to check the airspace last weekend. In total, the radar has completed around 130 million rounds, writes Omroep Gelderland.

The radar installation was placed at Camp Nieuw-Milligen in 1972. Later a large sphere was placed on it that is visible from a great distance. The sphere was necessary because the radar was too affected by bad weather conditions.

From Nieuw-Milligen, the Air Force was able to view the southern Dutch airspace for decades. The radar images were relayed to the Air Operation Control Station (AOCS), a few kilometers away. Air combat controllers monitor the airspace here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The AOCS remains located in Nieuw-Milligen.

A temporary NATO radar now serves on the site. This is the same mobile radar that was at Leeuwarden Air Base until March 1.

This will be replaced by a temporary French radar at the end of July. Ultimately, a new, definitive radar should be installed in Herwijnen in 2026. However, there has been a fuss about its arrival in Herwijnen for years. Residents are afraid of radiation in their small village.

According to Johan van Deventer, commander of the Air Combat Command, the old radar will soon be used as a set piece at the entrance to Camp Nieuw-Milligen.

There are a total of two military radar stations in the Netherlands. The radar in Wier, Frisian, has already been replaced. The radar in Nieuw-Milligen could not be replaced because, according to Defense, the location is too hilly. Low-flying objects such as drones can therefore be difficult to detect by radar.