August 29,2008:
The U.S. Navy Aegis anti-missile
system has had an 88 percent success rate (14 out of 16) in knocking down
incoming ballistic missile warheads. To achieve this, two similar models of the
U.S. Navy Standard anti-aircraft missile are use, in addition to a modified
version of the Aegis radar system, which can now track incoming ballistic
missiles.
The
RIM-161A, also known as the Standard Missile 3 (or SM-3), has a range of over
500 kilometers and max altitude of over 160 kilometers. The Standard 3 is based
on the anti-missile version of the
Standard 2 (SM-2 Block IV). This SM-2 missile turned out to be effective
against ballistic missiles ballistic missile warheads that are closer to their
target. A test last June saw a SM-2 Block IV missile destroy a warhead that was
only 19 kilometers up. An SM-3 missile can destroy a warhead that is more than
200 kilometers up. But the SM-3 is only
good for anti-missile work, while the SM-2 Block IV can be used against both
ballistic missiles and aircraft. The SM-2 Block IV also costs less than half
what an SM-3 costs.
The Standard
3 has four stages. The first two stages boost the interceptor out of the
atmosphere. The third stage fires twice to boost the interceptor farther beyond
the earth's atmosphere. Prior to each motor firing it takes a GPS reading to
correct course for approaching the target. The fourth stage is the 20 pound
LEAP kill vehicle, which uses infrared sensors to close on the target and ram
it. The Aegis system was designed to operate aboard warships (cruisers and
destroyers that have been equipped with the special software that enables the
AEGIS radar system to detect and track incoming ballistic missiles).
By the end
of the year, the U.S. Navy will have completed equipping 18 ships with the
Aegis anti-missile system. One reason the navy recently cancelled its expensive
new DDG-1000 class of destroyers was because these were built to support
amphibious and coastal operations, and did not have a radar that could easily
be converted to use SM-3 missiles. The DDG-1000 also cost 2-3 times as much as
current Aegis destroyers. With missile defense seen as a higher priority than
providing new coastal combat capability, the DDG-1000 was killed, and money
saved could be used to build more Aegis destroyers, and convert more current
destroyers and cruisers to use SM-3.