MOST ADVANCED US Navy missile defence system US Navy army air force The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD or ABMD)[1] is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide defense against ballistic missiles. It is part of the United States national missile defense strategy. Aegis BMD (also known as Sea-Based Midcourse) is designed to intercept ballistic missiles post-boost phase and prior to reentry. It enables warships to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles, by expanding the Aegis Combat System with the addition of the AN/SPY-1 radar and Standard missile technologies. Aegis BMD-equipped vessels can transmit their target detection information to the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system and, if needed, engage potential threats using either the SM-2 or SM-3 missile.[2][3] The current system uses the Lockheed Martin Aegis Weapon System and the Raytheon RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3). Notable subcontractors and technical experts include Boeing, Alliant Techsystems (ATK), Honeywell, Naval Surface Warfare Center, SPAWAR Systems Center, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (Lincoln Lab). Origins The current effort to deploy Aegis ballistic missile defense (ABMD) was begun during the mid-1980s as part of President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The SDI plan was initially for a space-based railgun system. However, due to technological constraints, the system was transformed into a surface-based system known as the Lightweight Exo-atmospheric Projectile (LEAP). The original testing of the LEAP was done as part of the Army LEAP program. Later, SDIO worked with the Navy to test the LEAP on the Terrier missile. The Terrier LEAP demonstration program lasted from 1991 into 1995 and consisted of four flight tests. Two of these were intercept tests in early 1995; both failed to intercept—the first had a software error in the second stage booster, the second had a squib (pyrotechnic switch to connect power) in the kinetic kill vehicle that was mounted backwards and failed to fire. Program history and development[edit] During the late 1990s, the U.S. Navy was tasked to provide a weapon system for exploratory testing of LEAP. This phase was designated the Aegis LEAP Intercept (ALI) program. The program was for two successful intercepts in five attempts. On June 13, 2002, the second successful ALI intercept occurred during the FM-3 flight test mission. Initial Aegis BMD success may have contributed to President George W. Bush's decision to deploy an emergency ballistic missile capability by late 2004. Upon the completion of the ALI program, Aegis BMD was transitioned to the production phase. The first Block I production SM-3 was delivered in October 2004, and the Aegis 3.0 update was delivered in 2005. This system was given major new importance by President Obama in September 2009, when he announced plans to scrap the plans for a missile defense site in Poland, in favor of missile defense systems located on U.S. Navy warships.[4][5] On 18 September 2009, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin welcomed Obama's plans for missile defense which may include stationing American Aegis armed warships in the Black Sea, as these would be less effective against Russia's missile attacks.[6][7] In 2009, several U.S. Navy ships were fitted with SM-3 missiles to serve this function, which complements the Patriot systems already deployed by American units. Also, warships of Japan and Australia have been given weapons and technology to enable them to participate as well.[8][9] Current Aegis BMD hardware includes the SM-3 Block-1a missile and other improvements to the Aegis Weapons System. Future development of the Aegis BMD system includes Launch on Remote capability, upgraded SM-3 avionics and hardware, and an upgraded Aegis Weapon System. In 2012 Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense will merge with Aegis Open Architecture and deliver the benefits of both platforms.[10] The Launch on Remote capability involves the use of off-board sensors, such as the Space Tracking and Surveillance System to provide a targeting solution for a SM-3 launch.[11] Aegis Ashore[edit] A land-based component, Aegis Ashore, is also planned (pictured). This would consist of equipment which is commonly used by the Navy being deployed in land-based facilities. This would include SPY-1 radars and a battery of Standard Missile-3s. The Obama administration's plans call for two sites: the first in Romania at Deveselu in 2015 and the second in Poland in 2018. In 2020, both will get the latest versions of the Aegis BMD software and the latest version of the SM-3.[12] Some radar facilities will be placed in Turkey at a future date.[13][14][15][16] U.S. Navy Aegis BMD Vessels[edit]

• published: 21 Jul 2014
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