Naval Operations Concept - Defense Technical Information Center

emphasize non-kinetic and “prior to launch” solutions that defeat the
ballistic missile threat.
Today, the robust air and missile defense capability of cruisers and
destroyers is leveraged for maritime BMD. With the proper combat
system upgrades, they will be able to focus sensors hundreds of miles
over land to persistently monitor the airspace above a launch site.
If a missile launch is detected, these ships can cue either sea-based or
ground-based interceptors with accurate tracking and targeting data, and
if equipped with advanced surface-to-air missiles, autonomously intercept
incoming missiles.
Surface combatants operating in international waters have great flexibility
and can reposition in order to improve detection and interception. Ships
conducting sea-based missile defense are sometimes tethered to a nominal
station, which could leave them less capable of other missions such as
undersea warfare or strike. As a result, single-mission land systems are
a more operationally and financially efficient method to address a fixed,
known threat than equivalently capable multi-mission surface combatants.
As the ballistic missile threat continues to grow across the globe,
the Navy’s maritime BMD capabilities may be called upon to respond
in all theaters. When expanded through the employment of linked
maritime operations centers (MOCs), sea- and land-based ballistic missile
defenses can be integrated into a globally deployable capability, scalable
and responsive to the threat.
Preventive Deterrence through Partnership
Effective theater security cooperation (TSC) and similar “soft power”
activities promote a collective approach to mutual defense concerns while
also addressing the conditions that result in conflict, thereby generating
non-traditional deterrent effects. In this expanded deterrence framework
partnership, cooperation and engagement strengthen relationships and
extend overall capacities to stabilize and secure the maritime commons,
creating effective and enduring disincentives to negative behavior. With
maritime safety and security as a foundation for cooperation, global maritime
partnerships enhance regional, transnational, and global security
while also eroding support for disruptive extremist ideologies. Building
partner capacity empowers like-minded maritime nations to address local
and regional security issues and deter adversaries; and expands the reach
Chapter Deterrence