1. 3rd failure in a row for GMD
2. Lockheed Martin booster may be cut
3. Canada opts out of missile defense cooperation
4. Sea-based X-band radar working toward December 2005 deadline
5. DSB report points out flaws in Patriot’s combat identification system
6. Clock is ticking for MEADS
7. SBIRS-High runs into Nunn-McCurdy violations…again
8. Aegis BMD holds successful flight test
1. 3rd failure in a row for GMD
On Feb. 14, 2005 , the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) suffered its third flight test failure in a row for the Ground-based Midcourse Missile Defense (GMD) system. This latest $85 million test, Integrated Flight Test (IFT)-14, was a planned intercept attempt. As in IFT-13C (the failed December 2004 test), Orbital Sciences’ booster, carrying Raytheon’s production kill vehicle, was scheduled to fly from Kwajalein and hit a target coming out of Kodiak, Alaska. While the target flew as planned, the booster failed to leave the ground – also as in IFT-13C. This time, however, the system shut itself down just a few seconds before launch. MDA officials blamed the arms holding up the interceptor in the silo, which failed to retract fully. It is unclear whether this problem exists in the silos holding the 8 interceptors that have already been fielded in Alaska and California . A report by an outside team on MDA testing for the program is expected by the end of this month. To minimize the chances of another flight test failure, a new position has been created to oversee site preparations. Rear Adm. Kathleen Paige will be the new director of mission readiness. Previously, she had a similar sort of position at the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program.
( Los Angeles Times, Feb. 18, 2005 ; Washington Post, March 10, 2005 )
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2. Lockheed Martin booster may be cut
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has been supporting two versions of the booster rocket needed to power its Ground-based Midcourse Missile Defense (GMD) interceptor. The two companies building these different boosters are Lockheed Martin and Orbital Sciences. Despite a later start, Orbital’s booster has been performing better in flight tests and was chosen to be fielded as part of the initial deployment in Alaska and California . Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, head of the MDA, testified on March 9 to the House Armed Services Committee that “we're no longer able to achieve” benefits from a dual-booster strategy. He did not give a timeframe for the decision on whether to keep both boosters. Orbital’s booster is about half a kilometer faster than Lockheed Martin’s version.
(Defense Daily, March 16, 2005 )
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3. Canada opts out of missile defense cooperation
Canada has officially announced that it will not cooperate with the United States on its missile defense system. In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said that his country did not see ballistic missile defense as a budgetary priority. Instead, his government wishes to spend its money on: “strengthening the security of our common border, bolstering security at points of entry, reinforcing our coastal and arctic sovereignty, increasing support for intelligence, expanding our armed forces and increasing our capital investment in helicopters, trucks, aircrafts and ships.” Because Canada agreed last year to allow early warning data from the jointly-run NORAD, this decision by Ottawa should not affect the way that the United States had envisioned operating its missile defense system. Relations have chilled since the announcement was made, but not irrevocably, since Martin , U.S. President George W. Bush, and Mexican President Vicente Fox are still scheduled to meet in Waco , Tex.
(New York Times, Feb. 24, 2005 ; Toronto Star, Feb. 25, 2005 ; Washington Post, March 5, 2005 )
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4. Sea-based X-band radar working toward December 2005 deadline
The San Antonio News-Express reports ( March 20, 2005 ) that the Sea-based X-Band radar, or SBX, is working on meeting its December 2005 deadline of being fielded at its home port of Adak , Alaska . The SBX is needed to fill in holes which currently exist in U.S. missile tracking capabilities. Writes the News-Express, “Roughly the size of two football fields, it will tower more than 280 feet from its keel to the top of the dome and will displace nearly 50,000 tons of water when submerged and moving.” The SBX’s self-propelled platform will cost $740 million. The whole system is being put together at a shipyard just outside of Corpus Christi , Tex. After tests have been run, the SBX will start moving toward the Pacific in May. Because it is so big, it has to go around the tip of South America instead of going through the Panama Canal . Program officials hope it will reach California by September and then its final destination by the end of the year.
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5. DSB report points out flaws in Patriot’s combat identification system
The Patriot missile defense system was involved in two fratricide events in Operation Iraqi Freedom where it misidentified the blue aircraft as possible threats. This resulted in the deaths of two British and one American pilot. The Defense Science Board (DSB) reports that the Patriot’s shaky combat identification capabilities “is not exactly a surprise; this poor performance has been seen in many training exercises.” It goes on to say that “[t]he task force remains puzzled as to why this deficiency never garners enough resolve and support to result in a robust fix.” With 60 fire units deployed, the report points out that the number of “possible Patriot-friendly aircraft observations were in the millions,” and recommends “additional protection measures such as safe return corridors for our aircraft.” The DSB report also notes that cluttered air pictures are going to be staples of future conflicts and they “will likely be more stressing than OIF.” These fratricides may not be isolated events. Finally, the report highlights the general lack of situational awareness for fielded Patriot fire units, remarking that the “communication links, the ability to correlate target tracks by disparate sensors and the overall information architecture are simply not there. Thus, a Patriot battery on the battlefield can be very much alone.” For the DSB report, please go to http://www.cdi.org/pdfs/dsb-patriot020905.pdf.
(InsideDefense.com, Feb. 24, 2005 )
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6. Clock is ticking for MEADS
The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS)’s six-month, $120 million ends on March 28. This tri-national program, being built by the United States , Germany , and Italy , has been waiting for Germany ’s parliament to approve its move into the design and development phase. If MEADS fails to obtain it, program officials may need to revisit Washington and Rome for additional funds. MEADS is supposed to hold nine flight tests in the 2011-13 era, with the goal of fielding it in its European backers by 2012 and in the United States by 2014.
(Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, Feb. 22, 2005 )
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7. SBIRS-High runs into Nunn-McCurdy violations…again
The Air Force has reported that the troubled Space-based Infrared System (SBIRS)-High has once again run into Nunn-McCurdy violations. The third through fifth satellites for the system will cost at least 15 percent and possibly 25 percent more than anticipated. This is the third Nunn-McCurdy breach by SBIRS-High in three years. This Congressional oversight mechanism requires that if a weapon system overruns its cost estimate by 15 percent, Congress must be alerted, and if it overruns it by 25 percent, then a review must be held to determine if the weapon system needs to be restructured. The Air Force has created a review team with members brought on from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office in order to determine the most recent cost growth of SBIRS-High.
(Space News, March 14, 2005 )
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8. Aegis BMD holds successful flight test
On Feb. 24, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system held a successful flight intercept test. During Flight Test Mission (FTM) 04-1, a target was launched from the Pacific Missile Test Range in Kauai, followed one minute later by a Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block 1 interceptor from the USS Erie, an Aegis cruiser which was situated about 100 miles from Kauai. Two minutes after that, an intercept was reported. This test was the first for the initial operational variant of the Aegis BMD system and used a “no-notice” launch for the target missile. During this scenario, the Aegis crews are put on alert, like they would be during a time of heightened hostilities, but they do not know exactly when the test target will be launched.
(Aerospace Daily, Feb. 28, 2005 ; Defense Daily, Feb. 28, 2005 )
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