Sea-Based Aegis Intercept Attempt Successful against Ship-Launched Missile
June 5, 2008 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The Aegis missile defense system today demonstrated a significant capability against the threat of ship-launched ballistic missiles with the successful intercept of a target missile fired not from land but from another ship. The test, designated FTM-14, was the fourteenth successful intercept by the Aegis system in sixteen attempts, and the second successful attempt in the terminal phase, that is, in the last few seconds of the missile's descent, by the SM-2 Block IV interceptor. At 8:13 am local time, the short range target missile was fired from "a mobile launch platform" 300 miles west of the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The Aegis system aboard the USS Lake Erie detected the missile and fired two interceptors. Two minutes later, the interceptors destroyed the missile some 12 miles above the Pacific Ocean and 100 miles west-northward of Kauai.
The sea-based Aegis system is one of the most robust and successful missile defense systems under development. Its mobile capability makes the sea-based system a major component of an overall layered defense against missile threats. Today's test is doubly significant for the threat posed by ballistic missiles launched against U.S. cities from ships lying off an American coast. Rogue states do not need long- or even medium-range missile capability to pose such a threat. Among others, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has noted that rogue states have in fact tested ballistic missiles from sea-based platforms such as freighters. The ship-launched threat, the so-called "Scud in a bucket" scenario, illustrates a much more immediate threat to the United States and its allies than an ICBM fired against the United States by Iran and North Korea. The range of both Shahab and Taepo-Dong missiles is more than adequate to use against the United States or other countries in such a configuration. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Ship-Launched Threat, Testing - American, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Pentagon Finds Cruise Missile Defense “Gaps,” Warns of Ship-Launched Threat
August 17, 2006 :: Inside Defense :: News
A Pentagon assessment of the U.S. ability to defend the homeland against cruise missile attack has founds nine “credibility gaps” that may not be solved until 2015, reports Inside Defense. These “gaps” include an inability to get information on potential targets; insufficient surveillance coverage; an inability to detect small, low-altitude targets; an inability to create a common operating picture; an inability of sensor systems to provide adequate tracking information; an inability of sensors to determine or predict the intent of a cruise missile; an inability of sensors to provide senior military officials with enough information to make informed decisions; an inadequate supply of information from other government agencies; and a lack of defensive platforms able to cover the North American continent. The assessment adds that Pentagon officials are increasingly concerned with the threat of terrorists using a cargo ship stationed outside U.S. territorial waters as a platform from which to launch cruise missiles. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missile Defenses, Cruise Missiles, Ship-Launched Threat
Gaffney: Missiles Abroad Should Concentrate the American Mind
July 25, 2006 :: Washington Times :: Analysis
The development, deployment, and proliferation of ballistic missile technology abroad requires a “concentration” of American minds and a concerted effort to develop robust missile defenses, writes Frank J. Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy, in The Washington Times. Gaffney catalogues the missile threats that have grown in recent years: North Korea’s readiness to sell missile technology to willing buyers; Pakistan’s intention to build as many as 40 to 50 nuclear warheads per year; Iran’s continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology; China’s ever increasing missile arsenal; and Russia’s development of newer intercontinental ballistic missiles possibly with maneuverable re-entry vehicles.
Gaffney makes particular note of the fact that Iran has test launched a short-range Scud missile off of a ship, which would allow it to attack the U.S. without developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. He also points out that Iran has tested its medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile in a manner that appears designed to detonate a nuclear weapon in space. Such a detonation above the U.S. would result in an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) capable of wiping out electrical systems and crippling the U.S. infrastructure and economy.
Gaffney suggests that the Bush administration carefully examine the newly released report by the Independent Working Group, entitled Missile Defense, the Space Relationship and the Twenty-First Century, which lays out a roadmap for the development and deployment of a robust, layered, and effective U.S. missile defense shield. The report calls for the deployment of space-based defenses and the expansion of sea-based defenses, and describes ways in which the necessary technical, public, and political support can be obtained and sustained. (Article, Link)
» Read the 2007 report: The Independent Working Group on Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century (8 MB)
» More stories on: Analysis, Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Weapons, Iran, Ship-Launched Threat
» Missile details: Scud B/C/D variants, Shahab 6
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
Cruise Missile Threat a “Front Burner Issue”
May 1, 2006 :: Defense News :: News
The threat of attack from cruise missiles launched from commercial ships is becoming a “front burner issue” in Washington, according to Ben Stubenberg, chief of analysis and scenarios at MDA. At a recent conference in Virginia, Stubenberg said that ship-launched cruise missiles offer potential adversaries “great strength at a low cost,” similar to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by insurgents in Iraq. Nearly 1,000 commercial vessels sail within 200 nautical miles of the U.S. coast every day, and the potential for a rogue vessel to slip in unnoticed remains “high.” Stubenberg offered a hypothetical example: A enemy ship could depart from a small port in Southeast Asia, one of nearly 11,000 ports not rigorously monitored, and head across the Pacific Ocean to Ensenada, a small port in Mexico. From there, the enemy ship would be in missile range of downtown Los Angeles, which currently has no means of defense against such an attack. Stubenberg offered three possible solutions: deploy of a coastal network of sensors and interceptors to shoot down missiles, strengthen intelligence to allow rogue vessels to be taken down before they reach U.S. shores, and expand U.S. missile defense capabilities.
The ship-launched cruise missile threat was first identified by the 1998 Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, also known as the Rumsfeld Commission. The initiative was placed on the “back burner” for some time, but has now assumed greater importance with Congress requesting more studies and MDA showing greater interest. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missile Defenses, Ship-Launched Threat
Congress Requires Studies on Ship-Launched Threat
January 1, 2006 :: Inside Defense :: News
Congress has directed the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and U.S. Northern Command to each examine and report upon how to defend against the threat of a ship-launched missile: short-range missiles fired from cargo ships off the U.S. coast. As quoted in the December 22, 2005 edition of Inside the Pentagon, the conference report on the FY 2006 defense appropriations bill recommends “$10 million to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the need for and deployment of an asymmetric missile defense capability, including both land- and sea-based solutions, against the full range of asymmetric missile threats.” In particular, the MDA director will be required to submit a report to Congress by June 1, 2006, with MDA’s recommendations for deployment options. The DIA’s report is due March 1, 2006.
Such salutary action by Congress requiring the MDA to directly consider the ship-launched threat and the architecture necessary to combat it could represent an initial first step toward transforming a Clinton-administration missile defense architecture into a much more robust and layered defense. A report, however, is only the first step. After all, the 1998 Rumsfeld report warned of such a threat, as did the 2001 report submitted by the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) commission. (Link)
» More stories on: Policy, Ship-Launched Threat
Lockheed Continues Study of Ship-Launched Threat
November 9, 2005 :: UPI :: News
Lockheed Martin continues its study on how to meet the threat of ship-launched ballistic missiles which could be delivered against a U.S. city from a ship or freighter a few hundred kilometers offshore, notes UPI. David Kier, Vice-President of Lockheed Martin’s Protection Division, is quoted as saying, “They don’t need intercontinental ballistic missile to attack us. An enemy could put a SCUD on a tramp steamer and launch it off the coast.” Kier’s remarks are similar to the warnings Donald Rumsfeld has made on a number of occasions.
In August 2005, Defense Daily quoted Kier as discussing Lockheed’s internal study to explore these threats. UPI’s story reports that Lockheed is furthermore working to
…to develop a system called Passive Coherent Locator (PCL) that could detect such a ship-launched missile and feed accurate tracking information into the existing national missile defense command-and-control system for a response.
The PCL system involves a network of sensors that could be operational from Washington to Boston within two years of government funding and along the entire U.S. coastline some years later.
Some 75 percent of the total U.S. population of 290 million people and 75 percent of its military bases are within 200 miles of the coast. The number of potential launch platforms is immense, with 130,000 registered merchant ships in 195 countries, NWIS said.
Thousands of SCUDs and other inexpensive short-range ballistic missiles have been dispersed, sold worldwide with some in countries where terrorist groups operate openly.
Iran test-launched a tactical ballistic missile from a ship last year and the threat has become much worse with the rapid proliferation of cruise missiles. China has already supplied many to Iran.
Some 70 countries already possess an estimated 75,000 anti-ship cruise missiles and many of them could be easily converted to land-attack weapons. At least 10 nations already have land-attack cruise missiles and their number is increasing, NWIS said. …
During congressional testimony early this year, Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry “Trey” Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said he was “concerned about” the potential for a ship-launched missile attack on the United States. “There is a difference of opinion in terms of whether that constitutes a real threat, but that’s something I’m personally concerned about. So we’re working on it.”
More recently, Obering told reporters: “We launched a SCUD off an ocean-going platform … It was very easy to do.” …
Lockheed Martin’s PCL has received some assistance in system verification from the government, including defense agencies and NASA, Kier said.
The UPI story brings attention to important work being done to consider this near term threat. The story, however, seems to confuse the difference between ballistic missile and cruise missiles—although both could of course be launched from a ship. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Ship-Launched Threat
Jane’s Notes Trends of Maneuverable, Ship-Launched Missiles
November 9, 2005 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
In part of the executive overview to the new edition of Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems publication, Duncan Lennox summarizes two features receiving relatively new attention in the missile defense community: ship-launched missiles and maneuverable reentry vehicles which are a sort of hybrid between ballistic and cruise missile technologies, two issues frequently referenced on Missilethreat.com.
The ship-launched threat is relevant for rogue states or even terrorists who might acquire a SCUD or other primitive missile, equip it with a WMD payload, and deliver it from a short distance off the coast of a major U.S. city. The 1998 Rumsfeld Report warned of such a threat. As Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld has repeatedly noted that rogue states have tested missiles in this configuration and that the near term threat remains, as have other administration officials. Missilethreat.com maintains an archive of related stories. “The ship-launched threat is one that needs to be taken seriously,” Lennox notes.
As for the development of maneuverable reentry vehicles, this applies especially to Russia’s continued announcements over the last two years that its new ballistic missiles, the Topol-M and the Bulava, are armed with some sort of hypersonic payload which would be capable of maneuvering in its midcourse and terminal phase, and thereby evading the sort of ground-based, midcourse ballistic missile defenses currently being fielded in Alaska and California. On this point, Lennox observes, “the sum conclusion is that in the future, the ballistic missile and nuclear warhead threat situation is going to become more complex and international in nature, with whole regions likely to be involved rather than just two individual countries.” Less unclear, however, is the extent to which long-range ICBMs would be able to maneuver significantly in their boost phase, when the missile is working to obtain altitude and speed necessary to travel long distances. (More »»»)
» More stories on: Maneuverable Warheads, Ship-Launched Threat
Senate Committee Calls for Ship-Launched Threat Report
October 18, 2005 :: Inside Defense :: News
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently asked the Defense Intelligence Agency to prepare a report on possible attacks by terrorists from ship-launched ballistic missiles, according to the October 12 edition of Inside Missile Defense. The request is said to be for a “recommendation for the nearest-term, lowest-cost solution to the threat described in the intelligence report.” The report is said to be due no later than March 1, 2006. (Link)
» More stories on: Policy, Ship-Launched Threat
Lockheed Looking at Ship-Launched Threat
August 2, 2005 :: News
Defense Daily reports today that Lockheed has begun to analyze the threat of a short range ballistic or cruise missile attack from the sea. Dave Kier, Lockheed Martin vice president is cited as saying on June 28 that the study, conducted by the company’s own funds, had “worked out a comprehensive architecture that would use existing missile-defense assets, company- developed and otherwise that could be used in a defensive system.” Defense Daily also notes that the House added $20 million to the Missile Defense Agency’s FY ‘06 budget to assess this sort of ship-launched threat and potential response. A study by the MDA could, according to Defense Daily, prompt the MDA to “examine its missile-defense toolbox, which includes Patriot, Standard Missile-3, existing radars, Aegis ships and other platforms and payloads that could take on the asymmetric ballistic and cruise threat against the United States.” (Link)
» More stories on: Ship-Launched Threat
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