Naval Forces' Capability for Theater Missile Defense (2001) / Chapter Skim
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Assessment of Current and Projected Department of the Navy, Other Service, and Defense Agency R&D Programs
Assessment of Current and Projected Department of the Navy, Other Service, and Defense Agency R&D Programs
Pages 94-128
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From page 94... ...
However, the Department of the Navy, primarily through ONR' s missile defenses and, to a lesser degree, its platform protections future naval capability (FNC) efforts is pursuing efforts that are relevant to both BMD and CMD in areas such as the following: · IR sensors, · Combat identification, .
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From page 95... ...
Accordingly, sensor R&D carried out under ONR's missile defense FNC is largely oriented to providing improved sensors for OCMD. In tactical situations, overland cruise missiles are difficult to detect and track because of clutter from the land background.
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From page 96... ...
The development of false target rejection algorithms in order to permit operations at the low thresholds needed to counter low-RCS cruise missiles is certainly an appropriate area of activity for ONR's missile defense FNC. Other possibilities for the detection of very low RCS objects include the use of multistatic radar configurations.
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From page 97... ...
The committee believes that the ONR missile defense FNC should focus on the development of new techniques that will make surface-based semiactive guidance unnecessary. The development of weapons to support ASCMD was discussed in Chapter 3.
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From page 98... ...
The major TBMD systems currently under development have both radar and optical sensors, and the potential benefits of combining the data they collect on various features of the threat objects is becoming increasingly evident. X-band radars being developed allow for the precision measurement of microdynamic features of threat objects.5 The passive IR sensors being developed for performing onboard interceptor functions are naturally adept at measuring the thermal characteristics of threat objects.
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From page 99... ...
Tracking and identifying cruise missiles in an overland environment with clutter and terrain masking has always been a difficult problem. With the proliferation of signature reduction technology, cruise missiles can defeat current systems.
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From page 100... ...
. 4.1.3.2 Department of the Navy BMC3 Technology Programs Theater Ballistic Missile Defense Development of advanced technology for TMD and BMC3 is the responsibility of BMDO.
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From page 101... ...
These algorithms would perform automated threat evaluations that consider all air and missile threats and all assets requiring protection in the theater and then provide automated shooter and weapon recommendations that consider all potential combinations. Work under the platform protection FNC program is focused at the platform level, so there are no BMC3 projects planned.
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From page 102... ...
Approaches for the Provision of Improved BMC3 Capabilities for Naval Forces The committee believes that BMC3 for TMD will need to undergo a revolutionary redesign. Traditional approaches to BMC3 adopt a design philosophy that is overly static given the highly dynamic environment that will characterize ballistic missile and cruise missile defense.
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From page 103... ...
4.2 ARMY MISSILE DEFENSE R&D PROGRAMS 4.2.1 Theater High Altitude Area Defense System The Army's THAAD system (Figure 4.1) is designed to provide broad area coverage and a deep battle space against short-, medium-, and long-range theater ballistic missiles.
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From page 104... ...
The Dem/Val phase included an objective of first flight in 2 years, and delivery of a user OPEVAL system was targeted for 4 years after first flight. The program experienced a number of quality control and reliability problems in the flight test program, resulting in six consecutive failures to achieve target kill.
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From page 105... ...
The radar also tracks the THAAD missile, providing in-flight target updates and a TOM to the kill vehicle. The primary means of performing target kill assessment, critical to SLS and handover decisions, is radar observations.
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From page 106... ...
4.2.2 Patriot PAC-3 PAC-3 (Figure 4.2) is the latest of three upgrades to the Patriot air defense system to provide a robust capability against theater ballistic missiles.
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From page 107... ...
The need for a theater ballistic missile defense capability has been recognized by the Army for several decades, and the quest for a defense system to meet this need has been marked by a number of shifts between single- and multiple-mission approaches. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the field army ballistic missile defense system (FABMDS)
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From page 108... ...
The mixed inventory of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles gives the Patriot battery flexibility in engagement of ballistic and air-supported targets. The original guidance system for the Patriot air defense, still used in PAC-2, was RF semiactive homing, with a downlink to allow implementation of targetvia-the-missile (TVM)
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From page 109... ...
The PAC-3 system has had five consecutive successful tests, three tests against ballistic targets and two tests against cruise missiles. The active RF mode has proved to be effective against both classes of targets.
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From page 110... ...
4.2.3 ,Ioint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated and Netted Sensors As shown in Figure 4.3, JLENS is a theater-based system employing advanced sensor and networking technologies to provide wide-area surveillance and precision tracking with a focus on land attack cruise missile defense. The role of JLENS is to expand the battlefield commander's surveillance and engagement capability against cruise missiles and other targets by extending the battle space for systems such as Patriot, MEADS, SM, and AMRAAM.
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From page 112... ...
The CEC will fuse measurement data from JLENS sensors with data from other CEC-integrated land, sea, air, and space sensors to facilitate development of a SIAP and to provide early warning, cueing, and fire control quality data for over-the-horizon/non-line-of-sight engagements. The JLENS classification, discrimination, and identification data will also be fused via composite identification processing to support identification determinations in distributed command and control nodes.
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From page 113... ...
The ABL program requires integrating a multi-megawatt COIL into the aircraft to kill boosting TBMs. The ABL laser system consists of three main segments: A laser segment to provide laser power; A beam control/fire control segment to acquire the target, align the laser, compensate for atmospheric distortion, and propagate the laser beam through the nose-mounted turret; and · A BMC3 segment to provide surveillance, communication, planning, and central command and control of the ABL weapon system.
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From page 114... ...
Assuming continued funding and no development delays, an airborne laser weapon designed to kill ballistic missiles in their ascent phase is planned for an initial operational capability between 2008 and 2010. The committee was briefed on the use of a lower powered COIL laser on a low-flying aircraft for defense against cruise missiles.
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From page 115... ...
The committee is deeply concerned about the widening gap between available technology resources and the requirements imposed by a missile threat that is growing rapidly in quality as well as numbers. As described below, the gap creates a major issue with respect to the spiral development strategy that is being used for TMD systems development.
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From page 116... ...
The natural tendency of program managers is to reprogram technology dollars, as necessary, to cover shortfalls in the development program. Because of this, the budgets for some earlier BMD technology programs, such as the Advanced Ballistic Missile Defense Agency, were "fenced" so as to prevent their reallocation to cover nearterm exigencies.
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From page 117... ...
CEC, while superficially appearing to be a collection of separate, communicating radars that might be thought of as cueing one another, in fact functions as a single distributed radar that is ideal for tracking air vehicles where line-of-sight issues can arise. The radar detection challenges presented by ballistic missiles with lofting trajectories lie in the long ranges at which it is hoped to be able to engage them.
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From page 118... ...
Increased radar transmitter power can increase range performance. All TBMD radars, including SPY-1 and GBR, include high-power module technologies (e.g., GaAs, GaN, and SiC transmit/receive (T/R)
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From page 119... ...
4.4.2.2 Seeker Sensors The sensor suite onboard the kill vehicle must first acquire the incoming threats or candidate RVs. Missile seekers have an inherently limited field of view and search capabilities.
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From page 120... ...
Only recently has serious attention begun to be applied to fusing of radar and optical data to enhance discrimination performance. The main BMD systems currently under development all have both radar and optical sensors, and the enhanced discrimination potential achieved by combining the data they collect on various features of the threat objects is becoming increasingly evident.
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From page 121... ...
Needed Seeker Sensor Research The following seeker sensor research is needed: · Multiband IR/visible sensors with laser radar or radar adjunct should be developed to address the discrimination issues that are certain to arise as ballistic missiles continue to become more sophisticated. If one looks at the dramatic advances in focal plane materials and mechanization technologies, it is easy to project continued improvements in quantum efficiency, sensitivity, bias and noise suppression, and resolution.
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From page 122... ...
Each TW interceptor is entirely dependent on the satisfactory performance of a single kinetic-kill vehicle (KKV)
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From page 123... ...
More recent appraisals of the value of HEL as an ASCMD weapon have centered on the observation that an HEL can char the nose cone of an incoming missile. If the missile is radar-guided, the charring will result in increased transmission loss through the nose cone and a partial or complete loss of radar guidance.
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From page 124... ...
. Lasers in the theater ballistic missile defense arena have a role to play principally in the boost phase, when the target size is the largest because the booster is still an integral part of the target.
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From page 125... ...
The committee notes, in addition to inadequate support of spiral development, the lack of high-risk, high-payoff interceptor technologies in the BMDO technology program. Concepts such as multiple, highly minaturized kill vehicles per interceptor need to be under development to provide a counter to future advanced threats and to remedy shortfalls in discrimination and lethality.
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From page 126... ...
Technology for NMD capability 2 includes tracking of multiple, closely spaced objects; discrimination algorithms; target engagement and fire control; and kill assessment techniques. BMDO created project Hercules in January 2000 as a National effort to develop robust, adaptive algorithms to counter off-nominal and evolving threats.
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From page 127... ...
. Such lasers which because of their large size and long wavelengths force the use of large optics for targets and long distances may be candidates for deployment on ships for the defense of Navy assets against cruise missiles and enemy aircraft attacks.
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From page 128... ...
Both the Israeli Defense Force and the U.S. Army are interested in fielding a short-range battlefield defensive laser system that would be able to shoot down artillery rockets, mortar shells, and possibly aircraft and cruise missiles.
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