Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...
Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...
Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...
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BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE IN THE 1990S<br />
deployment <strong>of</strong> the first unit in 2003. This system was designed<br />
<strong>to</strong> protect against aircraft, cruise missiles, and short-range<br />
ballistic missiles. DOD cancelled the program in December<br />
2001, as it was $2 billion over budget (60 percent cost growth)<br />
and two years behind schedule. 27<br />
DOD considered several missiles for the system. The trade<br />
press reported that the DOD was considering standardizing on<br />
one missile for both the Army and Navy programs. Because <strong>of</strong><br />
the technical status <strong>of</strong> the two programs, this would probably<br />
mean using the THAAD. While that might make economic<br />
sense, and perhaps technical sense, it had political problems.<br />
That is, Republican legisla<strong>to</strong>rs, holding the majority in Congress<br />
in the late 1990s, strongly supported separate Army and<br />
Navy programs. 28<br />
Another proposal was <strong>to</strong> mate the light exoatmospheric projectile<br />
(LEAP) <strong>to</strong> a Standard missile. LEAP began with a 220-<br />
pound device in August 1989, but within three years it appeared<br />
in five versions that weighed between 12 and 40 pounds. It was<br />
estimated <strong>to</strong> have a maximum speed twice that <strong>of</strong> THAAD and<br />
an altitude capability <strong>of</strong> 80 km. LEAP had its first successful<br />
test in September 1992. 29<br />
The NTW Ballistic Missile Defense program is also based on<br />
the standard missile aboard Aegis ships, but in contrast <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Area program, it is designed for longer range and higher altitude<br />
(outside the atmosphere) interception <strong>of</strong> ballistic missiles. It is<br />
comparable <strong>to</strong> THAAD. Designated SM-3, it is an SM-2 Block IV<br />
with a third-stage mo<strong>to</strong>r and a maneuvering hit-<strong>to</strong>-kill warhead<br />
that uses the LEAP IIR seeker. The missile had its first successful<br />
flight in September 1999, although this did not include<br />
the all-important third stage. But the system cannot handle<br />
ICBMs, which would require twice the intercep<strong>to</strong>r missile speed<br />
and more powerful radars. Some believe that it might also require<br />
new ships. The original plan was <strong>to</strong> field an interim missile<br />
(Block I) by 2006, but by February 2001 the Navy rejected this<br />
concept <strong>to</strong> concentrate on the final version (Block II). The Navy<br />
now believes that 2010 is the earliest it can deploy this weapon,<br />
when it expects <strong>to</strong> get 80 SM-3 missiles aboard four Aegis<br />
cruisers. 30 A 1999 Heritage Foundation study asserted that<br />
NTW could be expanded in<strong>to</strong> an NMD by putting 650 missiles<br />
247