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| Science & Technology |
| Missile defense trajectory |
| 2005-10-10 |
| A year ago this month, after decades of debate and delay, the first units of a national missile defense were deployed. Today, as that defense grows, a transition from a national to a global defense is under way. Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan, NATO and others are moving to acquire new or improved missile defenses. An obvious self-preservation move, given the current state of affairs with IAEA, the EU-3, etc. Recently, the Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) approved a defense appropriation bill that includes nearly $8 billion for missile defense. Top priority is to complete the current Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) to protect the United States, while adding regional defenses where needed. The SAC found GMD fundamentally sound, but in need of more rigorous testing. It added $200 million to maintain production of GMD interceptors and allow more tests. Much is being done to improve initial defenses. Nine interceptors are on line in Alaska and California, and five more will be in place by the end of this year. The battle-management, command, control and communications systems are connected, linking the interceptors to ground- and sea-based radars and space-based sensors. Existing radars are being upgraded and new ones built. A transportable X-band radar was tested against a Minuteman missile Sept. 14 and will be deployed in December. On Sept. 26, the Cobra Dane radar on Shemya Island in the Aleutians successfully tracked an air-launched missile on a realistic trajectory across the Pacific. The big sea-based X-band radar, which will help distinguish warheads from decoys, is in testing in the Gulf of Mexico and will move to the Aleutians next spring. U.S. and Japanese Aegis destroyers are on station in the Pacific and Sea of Japan, watching for missiles. The Navy's new Standard Missile-3, which will give Aegis ships the ability not just to detect short- and medium-range missiles, but shoot them down, will soon be in the fleet. The SAC added $75 million to accelerate this successful program. In addition to the U.S. and Japan, South Korea and Australia are deploying Aegis-equipped ships also able to carry missile interceptors. The U.S. and Japan are jointly improving the sea-based interceptor SM-3 Block II, to defend a larger area and counter longer-range missiles. Japan, worried about China and North Korea, will build the second-stage rocket and design a "clam shell" nose cone, paying a large part of development costs. The main program to attack missiles in their vulnerable boost-phase is the Airborne Laser (ABL), a high-energy laser weapon carried in a 747 aircraft with a global reach. ABL continues meeting its milestones and is on schedule for a missile shoot-down attempt in 2008. The SAC added $10 million for the ABL because of its "steady progress in the last 18 months." |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #11 Him, you can trust and maybe Moore. None of the rest. that weird, Pussy told me that too. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-10-10 17:06 |
| #10 Him, you can trust and maybe Moore. None of the rest. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-10 14:53 |
| #9 Connery |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-10 12:18 |
| #8 "The nose cone is an essential component to protect sensors and other devices on the interceptor and must come off in the final stage of the interception of a ballistic missile. Japan has developed so-called clamshell technology, which makes the nose cone split in two and break off the missile." http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn09-2005/nn20050923a7.htm |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-10-10 12:01 |
| #7 Depends Frank, which Bond was it? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-10 10:14 |
| #6 I saw this in a James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice" (?)- it swallows the US and CCCP capsules and returns them to Earth. Gotta be true, then |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-10 10:11 |
| #5 worried about China and North Korea, will build the second-stage rocket and design a "clam shell" nose cone, ? A shroud? A Nork MIRV bus? Can anyone say? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-10 09:13 |
| #4 China's big mistake here is letting NK get out of hand and drive Japan back to the arms of the U. S. |
| Posted by: Clirt Slinerong7183 2005-10-10 08:03 |
| #3 Mike, those loons are too busy with their anti-war protests. Hard to get the useful idiots fired up about missile defense when there's a shooting war going on. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-10-10 07:52 |
| #2 ...Not that I'm complaining, but has anyone noticed that we haven't seen protests or any "No Missile Defense" movements? Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-10-10 07:21 |
| #1 Very comforting. And are they catching anything with the customs inspections at the shipping ports? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-10-10 06:07 |