Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense is the sea-based element of the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System that has been tactically certified, deployed and contributes to the ongoing Ballistic Missile Defense System under development. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense leverages and builds upon capabilities inherent in the Aegis Weapon System, Standard Missile, and Navy Ballistic Missile Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence systems. Aegis is at sea, on patrol, certified, and on alert, performing a strategic role in Homeland Defense.

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Block 2004

• Long Range Surveillance and Track

• Aegis Destroyers, on Ballistic Missile Defense patrol, detect and track Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and report track data to the missile defense system. This capability shares tracking data to cue other missile defense sensors and provides fire control data to Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors located at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. To date, sixteen Aegis Cruisers and Destroyers have been upgraded with the Long Range Surveillance and Track capability.

• At-sea tracking events and flight tests have verified the capability to track Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and demonstrated the connectivity and reliability of long-haul transmission of track data (across eight time zones) necessary to support missile defense situational awareness, target cueing, and engagements.

• Engagement Capability

• Aegis Cruisers and Long Range Surveillance and Track Destroyers are being equipped with the capability to intercept short and medium range, unitary and separating ballistic missile threats with the Standard Missile 3.

• Flight tests are conducted using operational warships, operated by fleet Sailors and Officers. Each test progressively increases the operational realism and complexity of targets and scenarios. To date, there were seven successful intercepts out of nine attempts. The next flight mission is scheduled for spring, 2007.

• The engagement capability has been installed in three Aegis Cruisers and seven Destroyers. The capability was tactically certified in the summer of 2006.

Deployment

• Sometime in 2009, 18 Aegis ships, three Cruisers and 15 Destroyers, will be identically equipped with the Long Range Surveillance & Track and the operational engagement capabilities.

Future Capabilities

• Increased precision track data via radar signal processing upgrades, improving both Long Range Surveillance and Track and engagement capabilities.

• Defense against intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

• Increased international participation in sea-based ballistic missile defense capabilities.

RIM-161 Standard SM-3 Missile Overview

The SM-3 (Standard Missile 3) is a derivative of the RIM-156 Standard SM-2ER Block IV missile, and is the missile component of the U.S. Navy's forthcoming theater-wide ballistic missile defense system, called NTW-TBMD (Navy Theater Wide - Theater Ballistic Missile Defense). It is an upper-tier ballistic missile defense weapon, originally planned to complement the lower-tier SM-2ER Block IV A, but the latter has been canceled in December 2001.

The SM-3 missile, designated RIM-161A, uses the basic SM-2ER Block IV A airframe and propulsion, and adds a third stage rocket motor (a.k.a. Advanced Solid Axial Starge, ASAS, made by Alliant Techsystems), a GPS/INS guidance section (a.k.a. GAINS, GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System), and a LEAP (Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile) kinetic warhead (i.e. a non-explosive hit-to-kill warhead). The launching ships will be updated with Aegis LEAP Intercept (ALI) computer soft- and hardware.

The LEAP uses a FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) sensor to locate its target, and was tested in a 4-flight series called Terrier/LEAP from 1992 to 1995. These tests used modified Terrier and Standard SM-2 missiles. Two intercepts were attempted during these tests, but the LEAP failed to hit the target in both cases. The first flight-test of an RIM-161A SM-3 missile occurred in September 1999, and the third test (in January 2001) demonstrated successful missile flight and control up to fourth stage (i.e. kinetic warhead) separation. In January 2002, the first all-up test of an RIM-161A succeeded in hitting an Aries ballistic target missile.

Specifications

Data for RIM-161A:

• Length (incl. booster) 6.55 m (21 ft 6 in)
• Finspan 1.57 m (61.8 in)
• Diameter 0.34 m (13.5 in)
• Weight ?
• Speed 9600 km/h (6000 mph)
• Ceiling > 160 km (100 miles)
• Range > 500 km (270 nm)
• Propulsion Booster: United Technologies MK 72 solid-fueled rocket
• Sustainer: Atlantic Research Corp. MK 104 dual-thrust solid-fueled rocket
• 3rd stage: Alliant Techsystem MK 136 solid-fueled rocket
• Warhead Hit-to-kill kinetic warhead (KW)