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According to the US Library of Congress webpage for this facility: -  Significance: It is believed that the plans for deployment and initiation of construction of this facility were instrumental in obtaining Soviet agreement to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and a subsequent decline in Cold War hostilities between the Superpowers. This structure was nuclear hardened, that is, designed to withstand a nearby nuclear blast. Both the MSR with its data processing center and its power plant were nuclear hardened. The MSR was designed to be self-contained in case of attack. The MSR was a phased array radar, its beams were steered electronically instead of using heavy moving antennas. Rather than a large dish, this radar has thousands of small antenna built into each face. The MSR had a detection range of several hundred miles. It provided more precise, close-in target data than the PAR. The MSR was to ready interceptors (Spartan and Sprint missiles) for launch and then was to guide them to intercept. The MSR had four faces, allowing it to operate against attackers from any direction. A research and development version of the MSR had been built at the Kwajalein Missile Range (in the Marshall Islands). However, that version was not built partially underground like the MSR at SRMSC.