‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said,
‘To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax –
Of cabbages — and kings –
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.’
– The Walrus And The Carpenter by Lewis Carroll.
Well, the time has come to talk of things – Missile Defense in particular, and as promised, this will be the primary topic for the coming week. There are many things the BMDS (Ballistic Missile Defense System) is and is not (and one thing it is, is a repository for an eyewatering collection of acronyms. Help deciphering the same may be found here). It is not nuclear, nor is it the space-based, directed energy weapon system envisioned and advocated under the Reagan Administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative. Rather, it is conventional, terrestrial-based (for the most part) and kinetic (i.e., "hit-to-kill"
in origin. It is composed of globally-deployed sensors and shooters tied together with an extensive command and control communications network. To gain an understanding of this "system of systems" we will break it down into its component parts, beginning with the sensors, follow with shooters, then some discussion on the C2 tie-in. Your "Rosetta Stone," as it were, is the illustration above. Following that we tie them all together in the context of an engagement sequence where you, dear reader, will hopefully come to understand and appreciate the challenges of operating a globally-dispersed system such as this. Along the way we will utilize open-source videos and imagery to illustrate our points, not unlike this:
Article Series - Missile Defense 101
- Missile Defense 101: Intro
- Missile Defense 101 – ICBM Fundamentals
- Missile Defense 101 – The Threat
- Missile Defense 101: Sensors (Pt I)
- “To Provide for the Common Defense…”
- More Cold War Secrets Revealed
- Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) Completes Hover Test
- Missile Defense – It’s Not Just for ICBMs
- Iran’s Successful Space Launch
- Observations of a Missile Launch – I
- Missile Defense and FY10 DoD Budget
- Speaking of Ascent Phase Intercept…
- Foreign Ballistic Missiles – Capabilities and Threat Guide
- Say Hello to Ashura
- Required Reading: Naval War College Review Articles on China’s DF-21/ASBM
- BMDR Release and BMD Deployments to the Gulf
- Iran Announces New Space Launch Vehicle (SLV)
- Airborne Laser Testbed Successful in Lethal Intercept Experiment
- Wednesday’s Roll-up of Missile Defense News
- Aegis BMD: “Build a Little, Test a Little, Learn a Lot”
- The Problem With Proliferation: Cruise Missile Edition
Stumble It!
Stumble it!
Thanks. I’m taking vigorous notes.