Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
May 23, 2012
IWG Report 2009
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
Search
Home :: Missile Defense Systems
Aegis Ship-Based BMD
| Country: | USA |
|---|---|
| Basing: | Sea |
Details
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis BMD) will provide an efficient and highly mobile sea-based defense against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in their midcourse phase.
The system will integrate the U.S. Navy’s existing fleet of Aegis cruisers (Ticonderoga class) and Aegis destroyers (Arleigh Burke class) with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor currently under development. The system will allow the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to move its defense capabilities close to enemy launch sites, thus providing a critical “layer” to the broader Ballistic Missile Defense System.
At present, each Aegis cruiser and destroyer is outfitted with the Aegis Weapon System—the heart of which is the AN/SPY-1 radar system. AN/SPY-1 sends out beams of electromagnetic energy in all directions, thus allowing Aegis ships to track up to 100 targets simultaneously, while still retaining the ability to counter other air, surface, and submarine threats. AN/SPY-1 will be able to detect ballistic missiles as they rise above the horizon.
Once a hostile missile has been detected, Aegis BMD will launch its Standard Missile-3 interceptor from its MK41 Vertical Launching System (currently deployed on Aegis cruisers and destroyers). An evolution of the SM-2 Block IV interceptor, the SM-3 is a hit-to-kill missile comprised of a three-stage booster with a kill vehicle. As the SM-3 burns through its three stages, its GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System will set it on an intercept trajectory with the hostile missile. SM-3 will also receive target updates from the Aegis destroyer.
Once close enough to the ballistic missile, the SM-3 will fire its kill vehicle, the Kinetic Warhead (KW), from its nosecone. The KW will immediately begin to search for its target. It will acquire the ballistic missile using a high-resolution seeker, and maintain an accurate trajectory using its internal navigational system. As it closes on its target, the KW will identify the missile’s payload, and shift its aimpoint to ensure a lethal hit. When the KW finally slams into the enemy warhead, the kinetic energy of the high velocity impact will ensure complete destruction of the threat.
Since 1999, MDA has conducted five SM-3 flight tests. Four have been successful. The most recent test was on December 11, 2003, when a SM-3 from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie tracked, targeted, and destroyed a short-range target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. Impact occurred at an altitude of 137 kilometers and a closing speed of approximately 3.7 kilometers per second. The entire operation, from detection to destruction, took four minutes.
President George W. Bush recently called on MDA to deploy a preliminary defense shield—including sea-based assets. In September 2004, the Navy will deploy an Aegis destroyer in the Sea of Japan capable of detecting and tracking missile launches from North Korea and China. In the event of a hostile launch, the destroyer will be able to transmit data to ten ground-based interceptors located in Fort Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (also scheduled for deployment in September 2004).
In 2005, the first fully operational Aegis BMD system will be deployed on an Aegis destroyer. MDA will conduct rigorous tests, using this initial deployment to integrate the AN/SPY-1 with SM-3 and improve the accuracy of the interceptor. In 2006, the Navy will deploy nine Aegis ships outfitted with SM-3 missiles and configured to carry out ballistic missile defense operations from almost anywhere in the world.
During this initial deployment phase, Aegis BMD will provide a cost effective means of countering emerging threats from rogue nations and terrorists. The United States has already invested $50 billion in its cruisers and destroyers alone, and the additional cost of outfitting these ships with SM-3s is relatively small compared with that of developing new air-based, land-based, and space-based systems. Although the Navy will eventually need more ships over time to handle its regular duties, in the interim Aegis BMD will serve as an excellent stopgap measure.
MDA’s long-term goal is to transform Aegis BMD into a comprehensive missile defense system capable of destroying intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), possibly in their boost phase. As MDA improves its layered missile defense system, Aegis BMD will be able to integrate its tracking system with other new BMD tracking systems such as Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) satellites, the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS), or the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX). Although many consider the SM-3 too slow to intercept ICBMs, some believe that these enhanced detection and tracking capabilities will allow Aegis BMD to launch its interceptors earlier, thus allowing the SM-3s to reach long-range targets.
MDA and the Navy are also considering the development of a larger and faster interceptor missile.
Sources
Arms Control Association.
England, Gordon R. Remarks at the National Missile Defense Conference. Ronald Reagan Center, Washington, D.C., 22 March 2004.
Erwin, Sandra I. “Navy Prepares to Put Aegis Ships ‘On Alert.’” National Defense Magazine, March 2004.
GlobalSecurity.org.
Missile Defense Agency.
Raytheon Company.
Selinger, Marc. “Aegis on Tract for 2004 Missile Defense, Company Says.” Aerospace Daily, 13 January 2004.
U.S. Department of Defense. “Aegis Miss Test Successful.” Press Release 938-03, 11 December 2003.
First ballistic missile intercept for second-generation of Aegis BMD
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin team successfully intercepted a ballistic missile target for the first time, using the second generation of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, known as Aegis BMD 4.0.1.
» More stories on: Ballistic Missile Defense (US)
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
U.S. downs test missile with new interceptor
U.S. forces said they had destroyed a target in the first successful test of the Navy's newest anti-missile interceptor, designed to protect allies from attacks by countries like North Korea and Iran.
» More stories on: Iran, North Korea, Ballistic Missile Defense (US), Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Raytheon's Standard Missile-3 flight test a success
This morning off the coast of Hawaii, Raytheon completed the first successful flight test of its Standard Missile-3 IB, which introduces advanced sensors and a new, highly accurate steering mechanism to hunt down and destroy ballistic missiles.
» More stories on: Ballistic Missile Defense (US), European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Space, Nuclear Weapons, and Ballistic Missile Defense - The New Triad
In April, the Independent Working Group (IWG) on Missile Defense and the Space Relationship held an event on the new triad—space, nuclear weapons, and ballistic missile defense—and its importance for the United States. It explored the fundamental importance and the relationship among the different elements of defense. The United States currently does not have a strategy that would integrate these elements in a synergistic manner.
» More stories on: Ballistic Missile Defense (US)
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Testing complete, new missile defense technology to be loaded on Navy ships
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The U.S. Navy has finished testing the next generation of its Aegis ballistic missile defense system and given the green light to put it on at least nine cruisers and destroyers by 2015, officials said.
» More stories on: Ballistic Missile Defense (US), North Korea
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
S.Korean Troops Took Active Part in U.S. Missile Defense Drills
The South Korean military has taken an active part in U.S. missile defense exercises for years, it admitted Sunday. Until now, the military had been saying the troops only took part as observers.
» More stories on: South Korea
» Missile system details for: Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3), Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2), Aegis Ship-Based BMD
U.S. missile defense counters growing threat
4/19/2012 - WASHINGTON (AFPS) -- Six days after North Korea's failed long-range rocket launch, the head of the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency testified on Capitol Hill about bolstering U.S. defenses against a growing ballistic missile threat.
» More stories on: Ballistic Missile Defense (US), North Korea, Budget
» Missile system details for: Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD), Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Aegis Evolution Continues
Newly certified Aegis BMD version improves target identification of more sophisticated ballistic missile threats
» More stories on: Ballistic Missile Defense (US)
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Israel Tests Iron Dome
Over the past two days, the Israeli military has conducted the final tests of its Iron Dome missile defense system. Iron Dome is a component part of Israel's growing multi-layered missile defense architecture, and is tasked with stopping the short-range rockets (among others, Grads, Katyushas, and Qassams) fired by Hamas from the Gaza strip and by Hezbollah into northern Israel.
This testing comes on the heels of the massive Juniper Cobra joint war games exercise conducted by the U.S. and Israel in late October and November of 2009. That exercise was meant to test and improve the connectivity and interoperability of U.S. and Israeli armed forces in the event of a missile attack. Although it was said to have been in the works for some time, the political and strategic timing of the exercise considering Iran's recent saber-rattling couldn't have been better. The sea-based U.S. Aegis system that is now tasked with protecting Eastern Europe was used in that exercise, along with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), and the forward-based X-band radar that was deployed in Israel in 2008.
Between Iron Dome, David's Sling (another joint project of the U.S. and Israel tasked with the interception of cruise missiles), the Arrow-2 system that has been deployed for some time, and a longer-range Arrow-3 system, Israel is quickly becoming one of a few world-leaders in missile defense technology and deployment.
In related news, on December 21, 2009 the White House announced the signing of the latest defense appropriation bill in which $202 million is provided to help fund Israeli missile defenses.
» President Obama and Congress fund Israeli missile defense
» Longer Range Rockets Threaten Israel from Gaza
» Israel Conducts Successful Short Range Missile Intercept
» Israeli Missile Defense Test Success
» Missile system details for: Arrow, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), Forward-Based X-Band Radar-Transportable, Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Aegis BMD Version 4.0.1
The Missile Defense Agency has conducted a number of tests this year of its new missile defense software deployed aboard the USS Lake Erie, the Aegis BMD 4.0.1. These four tests involved the tracking and simulated engagement of short-range separating ballistic missiles launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.
The simulations included a demonstration of "Aegis BMD's ability to perform two-way acquisition and tracking data exchange with Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system." This test will provide useful data to use in implementing the Obama administration's missile defense policy shift in Europe from a ground-based interceptor system to one that will utilize the Navy's Aegis system and THAAD.
The USS Lake Erie is scheduled to engage a live target with its SM-3 Block IB interceptors in 2011.
» Missile system details for: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Aegis Ship-Based BMD
 | |
| Total Records: 91 | [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 » |
|---|---|
Home :: Missile Defense Systems
