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Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

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BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE IN THE 1990S<br />

limited deployment in another three years. Thus, the United<br />

States might field BMD by the year 2002 or 2003. 7<br />

TMD Hardware: PAC-3, MEADS, Arrow,<br />

Naval Developments, and THAAD<br />

The increased attention led <strong>to</strong> progress, the baseline <strong>of</strong> which<br />

is the Army’s Patriot system. The Army planned a number <strong>of</strong><br />

incremental improvements <strong>of</strong> missile, launcher, and radar <strong>to</strong><br />

field the PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) version. This began<br />

with a quick-reaction program (improved radar sensing and<br />

remote launch capability) deployed in 1993. PAC-3 increased<br />

the area it could defend, previously about 10 by 20 kilometers<br />

(km), by a fac<strong>to</strong>r <strong>of</strong> five. At about the same time, the developers<br />

improved the missile with the guidance enhanced missile (GEM)<br />

that increased range by 30 <strong>to</strong> 40 percent. The Army began <strong>to</strong><br />

deploy it and the next improvement, Configuration 1, that consisted<br />

<strong>of</strong> improved battle management, command, control,<br />

communications, and intelligence. 8<br />

The most noticeable change was <strong>to</strong> replace the missile. The<br />

existing Patriot missile with its blast-fragmentation warhead<br />

and improved multimode seeker was matched against an entirely<br />

different warhead concept, hit <strong>to</strong> kill. The Army had begun<br />

work on this idea, most notably in the Flexible Lightweight Agile<br />

Guided Experiment (FLAGE) in 1983. In May 1987, FLAGE<br />

successfully intercepted a Lance ballistic missile. The Army<br />

upgraded FLAGE <strong>to</strong> extend the missile’s range and speed in a<br />

follow-on design called Extended Range Intercept Technology<br />

(ERINT). It used a hit-<strong>to</strong>-kill mechanism along with a lethality<br />

enhancer that dispensed small pellets. The Loral-Vought missile<br />

flew a number <strong>of</strong> successful intercept tests during 1992–94.<br />

ERINT competed with the improved Patriot missile for use in<br />

the PAC-3 configuration. Patriot’s multi-mode seeker enabled<br />

the missile <strong>to</strong> hit a target Patriot in July 1992, and it apparently<br />

performed better against cruise missiles, aircraft, and<br />

drones than did ERINT. Nevertheless, in early 1994 the Army<br />

picked ERINT as its PAC-3 missile. The Army stated that<br />

ERINT had greater range, accuracy, and lethality than its<br />

rival. One source claims it had about 10 times the footprint <strong>of</strong><br />

239

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