THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense plans to save more than $2 billion by reshaping its ballistic-missile-defence programme.
The plan, which faces Congressional scrutiny, emphasises development of defences against short-range theatre-ballistic-missile (TBM) threats and pushes back production of weapons, designed to intercept ballistic missiles at greater distances. The Pentagon now plans to spend $14 billion over the Future Year Defence Plan (FYDP).
Funding would be boosted for shorter-range weapons such as the Raytheon Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile and the multi-national, Medium Extended Air Defence System (MEADS) in development. Lockheed Martin's Theater High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile would suffer a $1.7 billion budget cut.
The aim is to develop weapons, which attack ballistic missiles in three phases of flight: lower tier (terminal, endo-atmospheric); upper tier (mid-course, high endo/low exo-atmospheric) and boost phase.
Lower-tier weapons include the PAC-3 and MEADS, while upper-tier weapons include the THAAD for the US Army and the Rockwell Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile (LEAP) for the US Navy. Boost phase weapons could include the Raptor/Talon, an unmanned air vehicle with a kinetic-energy weapon.
Projected to cost $4.7 billion through the FYDP, the THAAD would now be budgeted at about $3 billion. Although the Pentagon will keep on track an early-deployment capability of 40 missiles and two radars, THAAD production would be delayed by about two years.
The Navy Upper Tier, also known as the Navy Theater Wide programme, would receive an additional $600 million through the FYDP, even though early LEAP testing, has been disappointing. Research would be accelerated to evolve further the AEGIS/Standard weapon system as a longer-range TBM interceptor.
Israel successfully test-fired the Arrow 2 anti-tactical-ballistic-missile missile on 20 February.
Source: Flight International
