Posted on 02/19/2002 8:16:27 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
The Pentagon is examining whether the ground- and sea-based elements of a nationwide missile defense system can share a common warhead, defense industry sources say.
Officials at the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said last August they would seek a second supplier of the warhead — also called the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) — in early 2002. However, the process has been delayed as MDA officials examine the potential for an EKV used by both ground- and sea-based systems, industry sources say.
Mounted atop a booster rocket, the EKV is equipped with its own infrared seeker, communications systems and propulsion mechanisms. When launched into space, it is designed to seek an enemy warhead from a cluster of decoys and debris and destroy the enemy missile by colliding with it.
Currently, the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Segment uses the EKV, while the Navy’s Sea-based Midcourse Missile Defense system uses a warhead called the Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile. The Navy system’s warhead has less range and maneuverability than the EKV.
The Navy system defends potential targets from medium-range ballistic missiles, while the Ground-based Midcourse system works against intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The MDA has not yet decided what type of warhead would be used in the Navy program, Air Force Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for the agency, said Feb. 13.
Lehner said the current test program of the Navy system is likely to continue, but all options were still open for the sea-based system, set for deployment in 2008-2010. "We would certainly like to leverage off of any technologies that have demonstrated capabilities that could satisfy our needs," he said.
The Navy’s Sea-based Midcourse system successfully hit a target for the first time in a Jan. 25 test. Nearly 18 more tests of the system are planned before it is ready for deployment. The system is designed to be fitted on the Navy’s Aegis-class cruisers. The Navy system’s warhead is carried atop a Standard Missile-3 variant, while the ground-based system uses a faster, more powerful booster to launch its warhead into space. The Navy uses several variants of the basic Standard Missile for a variety of air-defense and missile defense requirements.
If MDA officials decide that the EKV would be common to the ground- and sea-based systems, it would mean a restructuring of the Navy’s Sea-based Midcourse program, industry executives say.
The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty prohibited the use of sea-based systems for nationwide defenses. But since President George W. Bush said Dec. 13 that the United States would withdraw from the treaty, defense officials say it opens up new opportunities for the Navy system.
With the treaty gone, the sea-based system can play a role in engaging intercontinental ballistic missiles, defense industry officials say.
A more powerful warhead for the Navy system also could mean a more powerful booster than the Standard Missile-3 variant, defense industry officials say.
The Navy would like to continue using the Standard Missile-3, but MDA officials are pushing for a new, more powerful missile and a new warhead that is common with the ground system, one defense industry official said.
While a common warhead and missile for the ground- and sea-based systems would make sense, both should be deployed as is, and common elements should be pursued for later versions of each system, said retired Vice Admiral J.D. Williams.
Williams, who retired in 1992 as the Navy’s director of naval warfare, is currently a defense consultant. He said he favors a strong role for the Navy in missile defense systems.
The current EKV is made by the Tucson, Ariz., missile operation of Raytheon Co., Lexington, Mass. The company won a nearly $1 billion contract in December 1998 to develop the EKV. Raytheon’s competitor for the contract was Boeing Co., Chicago.
Boeing later won a contract to serve as the main systems integrator for the ground-based system. Boeing officials say the company would not compete when the Pentagon announces the competition for the second EKV because it may pose a conflict of interest.
However, Boeing is likely to make its critical sensor technology available to other defense firms that may bid for the second EKV, one Boeing official said.
Officials at Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md., say the company would bid for the contract, if and when the Pentagon announces the competition for a second EKV.
Lockheed Martin believes it is qualified to bid for the EKV because of the company’s experience in developing earlier versions of current missile defense elements, as well as the Army’s Theater High Altitude Area Defense system, one company official said. The earlier versions include the Homing Overlay Experiment and the Exoatmospheric Re-entry Vehicle Interception system.
But that couldn't be, could it? I'd better call up NBCCBSABCCNNNYTTIMENEWSWEEK to get the truth.
Now along comes another supplier with a completely different land-based system involving a totally new missile/kill vehicle and they want the Navy to buy it virtually sight-unseen. Will the new missile even fit into the existing vertical launch systems on the Aegis ships? Big mistake gentleman! Maintain the objective and go with what works!
The key here is to deploy a workable system in order to gain some deterence in a crisis situation. Whatever we build, the specifications will be classified in the hopes that the enemy won't gain knowlege of the system's limitations.
I am reminded of the Navy's development of the first Polaris missile submarine. They basically took a fast attack sub, cut it in half, and added the missile room to the center section. This cut years off the development of a new sub and allowed the Navy to deploy the Polaris System years ahead of schedule. That was an example of a successful "crash" program. I suggest that we take a similar approach now and get something deployed.
Can you say political intimidation? Ah! They are masters at it and other forms of extorsion. But somehow a Democratic president cannot be impeached if he intimidates and lies to court rooms and witnesses
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