By RAYTHEON
In the human face upward of expanding global threats to U.S. national safety from Democratic People's Republic of Korea together with elsewhere, layered missile defence has decease to a greater extent than of import than ever. This vital capability requires that numerous cutting-edge technologies share together seamlessly to protect against catastrophe. And amongst the entire U.S. mainland inward arrive at of a potential intercontinental ballistic missile, in that place is precious niggling room for error.
The Department of Defense has a multi-pronged approach to this complex problem. Administered yesteryear the Missile Defense Agency, each layer of missile defence has unique capabilities together with specific objectives designed for each type of threat, together with these must survive integrated to protect the homeland, partner nations, unusual armed forces bases, together with forward-deployed U.S. together with allied forces.
Layered missile defence entails both offensive together with defensive capabilities that include short-range systems, such equally the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS), equally good equally longer-range defenses, similar the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Only yesteryear continuously refining multiple systems to piece of job inward unison tin the DoD simultaneously protect against cruise missiles, long-range ballistic weapons, together with the growing threat of hypersonic missiles.
We discussed simply about of the latest developments inward national missile defence amongst doc Mitch Stevison, vice president of Raytheon’s Air together with Missile Defense Systems. One telephone commutation tool is Raytheon’s Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), share of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. doc Stevison noted that the SM-3 “is currently both sea- together with land-based … the solely ballistic missile defence intercept amongst multi-domain capability.” Crucially, it’s also been proven effective fourth dimension together with fourth dimension again, amongst “more than xxx successful infinite intercepts to date.”
Another of import missile is the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6), used yesteryear the U.S. Navy for long-range fleet defense. It offers versatility for multiple missions, able to successfully engage both ballistic together with cruise missiles, inward add-on to having anti-ship capability. As doc Stevison explains, the SM-6 provides “the mightiness to engage threats over the horizon yesteryear leveraging sensors that tin survive elevated together with forward-based.” When faced amongst anti-ship cruise missiles, he says: “Why shoot the arrows, when you lot tin accept out the archer?”
The SM-3 has also been a focal yell for of cooperation together with collaboration amongst U.S. allies to render regional missile defense. The SM-3 Block IB together with Block IIA variants are operational at a land-based Aegis Ashore site inward Romania, amongst simply about other facility currently beingness constructed inward Poland, effectively protecting all of Europe from ballistic missiles.
In add-on to helping protect allies, testing missile defence systems amongst partner nations helps ensure functionality together with interoperability betwixt systems. In September, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force successfully completed its starting fourth dimension intercept bear witness of the SM Block IB, “demonstrating the missile’s mightiness to seamlessly meshwork amongst Japan’s maritime systems,” according to doc Stevison. Moreover, Raytheon is collaborating amongst Japanese manufacture partners to railroad train the next-generation SM-3 Block IIA, which volition survive produced together with used yesteryear both Nippon together with the U.S. Other recent examples of U.S. articulation testing include the 2016 Pacific Dragon exercises amongst Nippon together with South Korea, equally good equally 2017’s Formidable Shield, a live-fire integrated air together with missile defence practice inward conjunction amongst multiple NATO nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, together with Canada.
Another crucial avenue to ameliorate national missile defence is yesteryear leveraging existing technology scientific discipline that has already been proven effective yesteryear unusual partners. doc Stevison hails Israel’s Iron Dome equally “the world’s well-nigh used missile defence system,” which has “intercepted to a greater extent than than 1,700 targets to date, amongst to a greater extent than than a ninety per centum success rate.” Raytheon is also offering production of SkyHunter, a U.S. version of Iron Dome. Considering that Congress has already invested to a greater extent than than $1 billion inward the evolution of Iron Dome, doc Stevison points out: “It makes feel for the U.S. to reap simply about of that do goodness through a much-needed capability.” And Iron Dome is hardly the solely crossover programme inward the works. Earlier this year, Poland reached a procurement understanding amongst the U.S. for Raytheon’s Patriot Integrated Air together with Missile Defense System. One expression of this is the SkyCeptor interceptor, a variant of the Stunner interceptor missile used for Iron Dome. As doc Stevison explains the payoff of this variant: “SkyCeptor costs a fraction of other hit-to-kill interceptors together with could survive an ideal land-based missile defence solution for other nations likewise Poland, including the United States.” Essentially, this procurement would render real-world testing of a cost-effective hit-to-kill missile patch also bolstering the defenses of an of import strategic partner.
Overall, ensuring effective missile defence at habitation together with abroad requires sustained partnerships, continued technological development, together with thorough testing. Strong national safety for the U.S. together with allies demands continued intergovernmental cooperation, equally good equally closed collaboration amongst manufacture to drive efficient, cutting-edge production that tin maintain mensuration amongst ever-evolving global threats. In this endeavor, failure is non an option.
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