The Aegis Ballistic Missile. is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD. United States national missile defense. But missile defense against a known ballistic missile. including China's rocket and missile tests, a US defence. Join us at the USA Science. to other elements of the Ballistic Missile. tracking of intercontinental ballistic missiles and work with other BMDS. U.S. Missile Defense Programs at a Glance. to oversee missile defense programs through the Missile. Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program & Key. Ballistic Missile Defense; Connect With Us. nuclear program is intended solely. allies around the globe to expand their ballistic missile defense. Canada, and the US Ballistic Missile Defence Program 1. Canada, and the US Ballistic Missile Defence Program By Oleg Nekrassovski The two key factors that. The Missile Defense Agency has fielded an initial capability to protect the U.S and our allies against limited ballistic missile. defend the United States. Germany and the United States have provided. U.S. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense. How does NATO Ballistic Missile Defence Work? . and operation of the SPIRALE program. (THAAD) is a key element of the United States (US) Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMDS) designed to defend US. The Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Please click on a portion of the graphic above to learn more about that element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Ballistic Missile Defense - Council on Foreign Relations. Introduction. U. S. U. S. homeland, deployed military forces, and allies from limited attacks. The Pentagon originally sought development of ballistic missile defense (BMD) technology to counter the Soviet nuclear threat during the Cold War, but its focus in the twenty- first century has shifted to defending against potential strikes from regional actors, particularly Iran and North Korea. Proponents of BMD stress its role in the projection of U. S. power and its value as a deterrent, while critics question its reliability and high costs. In recent years, some military analysts have said that the planned expansion of U. S- NATO missile defense systems in the former Soviet bloc has unnecessarily frayed relations with Moscow. How does ballistic missile defense work? Ballistic missiles can be launched from a variety of platforms, including silos, trucks, trains, submarines, and warships. There are four general classifications based on the maximum distance the missile can travel: short range (less than 1,0. Ballistic missiles have three stages of flight: boost phase, which begins at launch and lasts until rocket engines finish; midcourse phase, the longest stage, when the projectile is on its parabolic path to the target; and terminal phase, when the detached warhead reenters the atmosphere, often traveling less than a minute to impact. Cruise missiles, by contrast, are jet- engine powered weapons that fly low and level to the ground, often avoiding enemy radar, before striking their target.)Defeating a ballistic missile involves four functions: detection, discrimination (separating the missile from everything else), fire control (determining exactly where to intercept), and killing (hitting the missile with some type of interceptor). However, the effectiveness of BMD systems in test trials has been mixed, and critics continue to question their value in realistic battle conditions. The effectiveness of BMD systems in test trials has been mixed, and critics continue to question their value in realistic battle conditions. What is the history of U. S. missile defense? The Pentagon launched an intensive effort to counter the threat of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the mid- 1. U. S. Army, Air Force, and Navy. But by 1. 97. 2, with U. S. and Soviet arsenals growing exponentially, Washington and Moscow signed the Antiballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), limiting to two the number of missile defense sites each could maintain. In the early 1. 98. Reagan administration expanded research and development of space- and ground- based defensive systems, and unveiled the Strategic Defense Initiative [PDF], later nicknamed "Star Wars." The next year, the army tested its Homing Overlay Experiment, the first successful demonstration of a hit- to- kill vehicle. Meanwhile, tactical systems, or theater missile defense, continued to develop. U. S. Patriot missile batteries, originally designed to intercept Soviet intermediate- range ballistic missiles in Western Europe, were deployed to the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War. While they proved ineffective at defending against Scud attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia in 1. By the latter part of the decade, BMD advocates pushed for a full- blown national missile defense system, citing nascent North Korean, Iraqi, and Iranian threats. Leading defense officials in the George W. Bush administration envisioned an integrated, layered defense capable of defeating enemy missiles on a global scale. Early in his first term, Bush withdrew the United States from the ABM treaty and instructed the Pentagon to "proceed with fielding an initial set of missile defense capabilities." The first ground- based missile interceptor was installed at an army base in central Alaska in July 2. What are the primary missile defense systems? The U. S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is developing a number of systems that could offer multiple opportunities to defeat limited ballistic missile attacks. These systems are not designed to shield against large- scale nuclear attacks from Russia and China. MDA has spent roughly $1. Pentagon's base budget. There are four primary BMD programs: Ground- Based Midcourse Defense: The most complex and costly component of the U. S. missile defense system is designed to destroy intermediate- and long- range ballistic missiles in space. As of summer 2. 01. Fort Greely, Alaska, and four at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with plans to increase this arsenal to forty- four by 2. In a June 2. 01. 4 test, an interceptor launched from Vandenberg destroyed a target missile launched from the Marshall Islands, marking the first successful hit (out of four tries) since 2. But experts say the technology is still unreliable and needs further testing. Meanwhile, some U. S. officials are advocating for the construction of a third interceptor site on the Eastern seaboard, and the MDA is assessing prospective locations. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense: Considered the most reliable component of missile defense, this traditionally sea- based system is designed to intercept short- and medium- range ballistic missiles. The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy plan to increase the number of BMD- capable Aegis warships from 3. As of June 2. 01. Pentagon said the system had twenty- eight successful intercepts out of thirty- four tests. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense: THAAD is a rapidly deployable, truck- mounted system capable of intercepting short- and medium- range ballistic missiles inside and just outside the atmosphere. Three THAAD systems were operational as of mid- 2. Pentagon is expected to expand this to seven. In April 2. 01. 3, the Army deployed a THAAD battery to Guam to help defend the U. S. territory from North Korean intermediate- range ballistic missiles. Patriot Advanced Capability–3: The PAC- 3 is the successor to the systems deployed in the Persian Gulf War and the most mature system in the U. S. missile defense arsenal. Rapidly deployable, the system is vehicle- mounted and employs sensors to track and intercept incoming missiles in their terminal phase, at lower altitudes than THAAD systems. The PAC- 3 was used during combat missions in Iraq in 2. PAC- 3 batteries have been deployed to several nations including South Korea, Afghanistan, and Turkey, among others, and more than a dozen nations have purchased variants of the system. Source: GAO, Missile Defense: Opportunity to Refocus on Strengthening Acquisition Management, 2. What is the threat from North Korea? North Korea has several hundred short- range and medium- range ballistic missiles, and is developing an intermediate- range missile (Taepo Dong–2) that analysts say would be able to hit the continental United States should it become operational. The TD- 2 succeeded in placing a satellite in orbit in December 2. However, experts say the feat does not translate into a reliable missile, and that further testing is needed. North Korea's missiles are capable of delivering conventional warheads and, potentially, biological and chemical munitions. U. S. intelligence officials say that TD- 2 missiles could, in theory, deliver a nuclear payload to the United States, but noted that without further testing, the potential for this was low in the near term. Experts suspect Pyongyang has four to ten plutonium- based nuclear weapons, but analysts continue to speculate whether the regime has mastered the miniaturization technology required to mount a nuclear warhead on its missiles. Several UN Security Council resolutions passed in recent years prohibit North Korea from developing nuclear or ballistic missile technology. What is the threat from Iran? Experts say Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, having obtained most of this from its allies, particularly North Korea. The majority of Iran's ballistic missile inventory consists of Scud missiles with a range of up to approximately 5. Tehran views these as important tactical weapons, but experts say their ability to strike U. S. and allied targets in the region is limited because they would need to be launched from vulnerable positions along the Persian Gulf. Furthermore, analysts say these missiles are not very accurate and serve more as a psychological threat to large urban and economic centers in the region. The Islamic Republic is also building a stockpile of longer- range ballistic missiles that are able to hit any target in the Middle East, including Israel, but analysts say these weapons suffer from significant inaccuracy. U. S. intelligence officials have warned in recent years of Iran's potential to deliver weapons of mass destruction with these missiles. In the 2. 01. 4 U. S. Worldwide Threat Assessment [PDF], Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Iran has "the means and motivation to develop longer- range missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile." Tehran claims its controversial nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful applications, but Western analysts continue to speculate whether the regime has decided to pursue a nuclear weapon. Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1. PDF], Iran is forbidden from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. How does the United States collaborate with allies? A major component of U. S. military strategy is partnering with allies around the globe to expand their ballistic missile defense capabilities. The Aegis BMD system is the linchpin of the Obama administration's plan for a phased deployment of a missile defense umbrella in Europe, which is intended to protect U. S. forces and NATO allies from regional threats like Iran. NATO leaders adopted missile defense as a principal alliance objective at their 2. Lisbon Summit and approved the integration of U. S. and allied BMD efforts. In February 2. 01. USS Donald Cook arrived in the port of Rota, becoming the first of four Aegis warships to be based in Spain. The Ballistic Missile Defense System. Please click on a portion of the graphic above to learn more about that element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Missile defense technology being developed, tested and deployed by the United States is designed to counter ballistic missiles of all ranges—short, medium, intermediate and long. Since ballistic missiles have different ranges, speeds, size and performance characteristics, the Ballistic Missile Defense System is an integrated, "layered" architecture that provides multiple opportunities to destroy missiles and their warheads before they can reach their targets. The system's architecture includes: networked sensors (including space- based) and ground- and sea- based radars for target detection and tracking; ground- and sea- based interceptor missiles for destroying a ballistic missile using either the force of a direct collision, called "hit- to- kill" technology, or an explosive blast fragmentation warhead; and a command, control, battle management, and communications network providing the operational commanders with the needed links between the sensors and interceptor missiles. Missile defense elements are operated by United States military personnel from U. S. Strategic Command, U. S. Northern Command, U. S. Pacific Command, U. S. Forces Japan, U. S. European Command and others. The United States has missile defense cooperative programs with a number of allies, including United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and many others. The Missile Defense Agency also actively participates in NATO activities to maximize opportunities to develop an integrated NATO ballistic missile defense capability.
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