New Control System for SM-3 Successfully Tested
August 11, 2006 :: UPI :: News
Raytheon and ATK successfully tested a new steering control system for the ship-launched Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor missile, reports the UPI. The SM-3 is deployed aboard Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers where it defends against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The control system, known as the Solid Divert and Attitude Control System (SDACS), was tested in a vacuum chamber facility in Maryland and involved a full pulse burn that simulated the SM-3 closing on a target. The advanced version of the SDACS adds two more individual propellant burn periods, allowing for increased thrust and maneuvering capability. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Sea-Based Systems, Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Fisher: China May Have Second-Strike Capability
August 3, 2006 :: Analysis
China may have a “second-strike” nuclear capability, says Richard Fisher, a researcher at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Fisher recently spoke at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., where he stated his belief that Beijing has equipped and launched the first JIN-class (Type 094) ballistic missile submarine. The Pentagon had previously asserted that the new Chinese submarine would not be operational until around 2010. Fisher also speculated that China might have already armed the Type 094 submarine with JL-2 (CSS-NX-5) submarine launched ballistic missiles, which would give China a second-strike nuclear capability in any confrontation with the U.S. “The JL-2 SLBM has undergone a series of tests,” he said. “The potential for [the Type 094 submarine] to be armed with multiple warheads is there.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, China, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile details: CSS-NX-5/CSS-NX-4 (JL-2)
Ivanov Visit May Signal Renewed Submarine Ambitions in Russia
July 23, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov’s recent visit to a major submarine plant on the White Sea may signal Russia’s intention to modernize its Navy, according to analysis by Russian media sources. The RIA-Novosti and Itar-Tass news agencies report that Ivanov on Friday toured the Sevmash shipyards, in the Severodvinsk region, where the new Borei-class nuclear submarines are being built. The Borei is being manufactured by the St. Petersburg-based corporation Rubin under the moniker “Project 955.” Central to this project is the new D-19M missile system being developed for these submarines, which can carry up to 12 Bulava (SS-NX-30) ballistic missiles. According to Ivanov, the new Borei-class submarines are on schedule to enter service with the Russian Navy in 2007. Three are currently under construction at Sevmash, including the Yuri Dolgoruky, the Aleksandr Nevskiy and the Vladimir Monomakh. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile details: SS-26
Japan Scheduled to Deploy Six Aegis Ships by 2008
July 23, 2006 :: Kyodo :: News
Japan plans to deploy a total of six Aegis-quipped warships by the spring of 2008, reports Kyodo. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has already deployed four Aegis destroyers, the Kongou and Choukai, both based in Sasebo, the Myoukou in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, and the Kirishima in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. A fifth warship, the Atago, is to be commissioned next spring and deployed at Maizuru. A sixth Aegis destroyer is under construction in Nagasaki, and will be deployed at Sasebo after its completion in the spring of 2008. Five of the six Aegis warships will be deployed along the Sea of Japan to provide a defensive shield against the threat of ballistic missile attack from North Korea. All of Japan’s Aegis warships are currently equipped with SM-2 interceptors, although the MSDF is planning to upgrade them to SM-3 interceptors, capable of hitting ballistic missiles at a far higher altitude. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Japan, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Navy to Field Terminal Phase SM-2 Interceptors on Aegis Ships
June 5, 2006 :: Inside Defense :: News
The U.S. Navy plans to modify its existing fleet of Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IV missiles to defend against enemy ballistic missiles in the terminal phase, the final minute or so before the missiles strikes their targets. On May 24, the Navy conducted the first sea-based intercept of a ballistic missile in the terminal phase, using a modified SM-2 fired from the Aegis cruiser Lake Erie. Based on the success of this test, the Navy plans to modify approximately 100 SM-2 missiles and deploy them on three Aegis BMD-configured cruisers. According to Christopher Taylor, an MDA spokesman, this plan is still being generated and vetted by Naval Sea Systems Command, so detailed costs are not yet available. (Link)
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» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Aegis SM-2 Interceptor Destroys Target in Successful Test
May 25, 2006 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The Missile Defense Agency conducted a successful test of a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2 Block IV) interceptor based on Aegis ships. Although the testing regime for the ship-launched Aegis system has been extraordinarily successful, this particular test marks the first time in which a ship-launched interceptor has ever destroyed a ballistic missile in its “terminal,” or descent phase. The Pearl Harbor-based Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie conducted the interception of a short-range target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii.
The intercept also tested whether a missile could be destroyed in its terminal phase by means of an explosive, with a blast nearby, as opposed to a purely kinetic interception: “In today’s test, the threat missile was completely destroyed by the combined effects of these two mechanisms,” according to the agency’s press release. The press release continued:
The modified Aegis Weapon System and the modified SM-2 Block IV provided the firing ship the capability to guide the missile to achieve either; 1) a direct body to body hit between the interceptor and the threat or, 2) a near-direct hit where the high pressure, heat and fragments are placed on the threat by a blast fragmentation warhead. This warhead is similar in concept to that used in the deployed Israeli Arrow system. In today’s test, the threat missile was completely destroyed by the combined effects of these two mechanisms.
“This is another example of the ongoing cooperative spirit between the Navy and the Missile Defense Agency,” said Rear Admiral Barry McCullough, Director, Surface Warfare, on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Of today’s test, Admiral McCullough commented that it represents “an important step towards the desired end-state of a robust sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense capability, and it begins to meet an immediate near-term concern of our Combatant Commanders.” The only current terminal defenses are the Patriot (PAC-3), which have not been deployed on ships.
The significance of sea-based terminal defenses is to provide a mobile capability such as could be deployed near or between an enemy’s missiles and their plausible destination. Specific applications which might be of “near term concern” to Combatant Commanders could include the potential posting of ships near a coastal target, whether near Japan or South Korea—or an American coast. (Article, Link)
» Jane’s on SM-2 terminal intercept
» More stories on: Allies, Sea-Based Systems, Ship-Launched Threat, Testing - American
German Frigates to Acquire Some Missile Defense Capability
April 7, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The German Navy plans to develop a theater ballistic missile defense role for its Sachsen-class (F-124) anti-air warfare frigates, report Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. Rear Admiral Hubertus von Puttkamer, defense attaché at the German Embassy in the U.S., recently described the plans at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space symposium in Washington, DC. According to von Puttkamer, the German frigates already have the basic components necessary for such a system: Mk-41 vertical launchers, which could take Standard Missile-3 interceptor missiles, and the Thales SMART-L advanced radar system.
Standard Missile-3 interceptors are currently being developed by the U.S. and Japan for use on Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers. (Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Sea Based X-Band Radar Dedicated; Enroute to Alaska
August 1, 2005 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The massive X-band radar mounted onto one of the world’s largest oil-rigs has now been dedicated, with a formal announcement today by Air Force Lt. General Trey Obering, head of the Missile Defense Agency Director, at a ceremony today at Kiewit Offshore Services at Corpus Christi, Texas.
An excerpt from the MDA press release:
The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is a unique combination of an advanced X-Band radar mounted aboard an ocean-going, semi-submersible platform that provides the Ballistic Missile Defense System with a missile tracking and discrimination capability that can be positioned to cover any part of the globe to support both missile defense operations and testing. The platform is twin-hulled, self-propelled and very stable in rough seas and turbulent sea conditions. Its ocean-spanning mobility allows the radar to be repositioned as needed to support the various test scenarios envisioned for the Ballistic Missile Defense System or to provide radar coverage of possible threat missile launches from anywhere in the world.
The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is 240 feet wide and 390 feet long. It towers more than 280 feet from its keel to the top of the radome and displaces nearly 50,000 tons. Larger than a football field, the main deck houses living quarters, workspaces, storage, power generation, a bridge and control rooms while providing the floor space and infrastructure necessary to support the radar antenna array, command, control and communications suites and an in-flight interceptor communication system data terminal.
The Sea-Based X-Band Radar recently returned from preliminary sea trials, and preparations are underway for further tests and the transit of the vessel later this year to its homeport of Adak, Alaska.
(Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX)
Possible Role for Fighters in Missile Defense
May 11, 2005 :: Inside Defense :: News
The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy are studying means of defending ships against short range ballistic missiles, which includes a number a new basing options for previously ground-based interceptors such as THAAD and Patriot, reports the May 10 edition of Inside Missile Defense. A working group’s report, “Sea-Based Terminal Ballistic Missile Defense Assessment,” is said to be due in June.
The plan for a “sea-based terminal defense” considers the possibilities for development and fielding around 2010. Besides arming fighter aircraft with modified PAC-3 or even the longer range THAAD interceptors, “marinized” versions of both could plausibly also be placed on ships, according to various sources cited. The Aegis ship-based defenses would also likely be incorporated into any sea-based defense for ships.
The aircraft-launched versions would be of use for defense against ballistic or cruise missile attacks against our coast, provided of course the fighters were in the right place at the right time, within range of the missile: “In theory,” a source quoted said, “you could put two THAADs on an F-15.”
The reports are similar in concept to the jet fighter-based Anti-Satellite Weapons or Boost Phase Interceptors (BPI) discussed in previous years. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Air, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Boost Phase Interceptor (BPI), Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
Pacific Fleet Commander: Aegis Ready
April 14, 2005 :: San Diego Union Tribune :: News
In an interview for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Navy Admiral Walter F. Doran, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, described that the Aegis ships equipped with ballistic defenses are prepared for “limited defense operations.”
Q: What is the Navy’s role in ballistic missile defense with the Aegis system?
A: We are ready right now, the United States Navy in the Western Pacific, again 7th Fleet units, are ready for limited defense operations in the Western Pacific if we were required to do it. The sea-based ballistic missile defense is very much a real player. In fact, if you look back we have had very successful (interception) shots with the SM3 missile at the Pacific Missile Range.
Admiral Doran also answered questions about such things as China’s modernizing military and the North Korean threat. (More »»»)
» More stories on: Deployment, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
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