MISSILE DEFENSE
US Navy Announces Terminal Descent Intercept

File photo: U.S. Navy Standard Missile 2 Block IV.
by Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst
 Washington (UPI) May 31, 2006
 U.S. sea-based ballistic missile defence capabilities demonstrated a new engagement aspect on May 24 when a Standard Missile 2 Block IV successfully intercepted a ballistic missile target in its terminal descent or endo-atmospheric phase, Jane's Navy International reported May 26.

The U.S. Navy has now made seven ballistic missile intercepts from eight firings, but until this point all of the engagements had occurred with the BMD-dedicated SM-3 in the exo-atmospheric ballistic phases, the report said.

Nick Bucci, Lockheed Martin's chief engineer for Sea-based Missile Defence, told Jane's that both types of engagement had stressing moments, but the main difference with a terminal phase engagement was the timeline involved. Otherwise the Aegis engagement path follows the same detect, track, engage and control sequence.

There are currently no more trials scheduled for the SM-2 terminal BMD capability in the short term and this demonstration was primarily to prove that the concept was technically possible.

The U.S. Navy has large stocks of existing SM-2 missiles that it could upgrade with the modified seeker. Jim Sheridan, Lockheed Martin's director of Aegis Development, told Jane's that rolling out the Aegis terminal phase upgrade across the 15 destroyers and three cruisers of the BMD fleet was an option.

Source: United Press International

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