In recent years, the US has developed the pre-warning observation platform for the sea-based ballistic missile, which can provide the pre-warning observation and the precise identification of the ballistic missiles from other countries. It has become a key point of the pre-warning system for US sea-based ballistic missiles. From the present status of the development of the pre-warning observation platform for the US sea-based ballistic missile, it studies and analyzes the characteristics and the main functions, and preliminarily summarizes the future development trend. Some considerations are presented for the development of the pre-warning observation platform for the sea-based ballistic missiles in China.