U.S. Conducts Subcritical Nuclear Test
September 7, 2006 :: AP :: News
Scientists from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico conducted a subcritical nuclear test at the Nevada desert proving ground on August 30, according to a statement by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Subcritical tests involve the detonation of explosives around radioactive material, but are designed not to reach the “critical mass” necessary for a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. Such experiments are essential to maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The August 30 test, dubbed Unicorn, involved a detonation in a vault some 600 feet below the surface of the 1,375-square-mile federal reservation. No radioactivity was released and no damage was reported from the experiment. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Nuclear Weapons, Testing - American
GBI from Vandenberg Successfully Intercepts Target Missile
September 1, 2006 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The Missile Defense Agency today successfully intercepted a target ballistic missile over the Pacific in the widest test in 18 months of the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missile. The Patriot-As-A-Target missile was launched from Kodiak, Alaska, and followed a trajectory similar to the path a North Korean missile might follow in an attack on West Coast cities. It was successfully shot down by a GBI launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The test was designed to collect large amounts of data rather than shoot down the target, although it accomplished both goals, the target warhead being destroyed. The test also marked the first time that a ground-based interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD), Vandenberg Air Force Base
New Control System for SM-3 Successfully Tested
August 11, 2006 :: UPI :: News
Raytheon and ATK successfully tested a new steering control system for the ship-launched Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor missile, reports the UPI. The SM-3 is deployed aboard Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers where it defends against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The control system, known as the Solid Divert and Attitude Control System (SDACS), was tested in a vacuum chamber facility in Maryland and involved a full pulse burn that simulated the SM-3 closing on a target. The advanced version of the SDACS adds two more individual propellant burn periods, allowing for increased thrust and maneuvering capability. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Sea-Based Systems, Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Successful Test of Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) Thruster
July 24, 2006 :: Lockheed Martin :: News
On July 16, a Lockheed Martin-led team completed initial testing of the kill vehicle divert thruster for the Missile Defense Agency’s Multiple Kill Vehicle Payload System. Using what is known as the “many-on-many” strategy, the Multiple Kill Vehicle system deploys multiple exoatmospheric kill vehicles from one interceptor missile (as opposed to the previous designs which included only one kill vehicle). If successfully completed, the many-on-many approach will allow one interceptor to target and destroy an enemy missile and its deployed countermeasures, thus conserving resources and reducing the need for extensive pre-launch intelligence.
In the recent tests, the prototype thruster and valve combination of the Multiple Kill Vehicle’s divert and attitude control system was successfully demonstrated using a liquid monopropellant. The divert and attitude control system positions the kill vehicle to intercept its target. The tests were completed by Aerojet, a Lockheed Martin subcontractor, in its facilities in Redmond, Washington. (Article, Link)
» MDA press release on MKV test
» More stories on: Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV)
Minuteman-3 Test Launch Successful
July 20, 2006 :: AP :: News
The U.S. Air Force successfully test launched an unarmed Minuteman-3 intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The missile’s three warheads hit a water target near the Marshall Islands approximately 6,700 km from Vandenberg, and the test was said to be a complete success. Minuteman tests take place several times a year for routine testing. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: Minuteman I
» Missile system details for: Vandenberg Air Force Base
THAAD Test Successful, Destroys Target Missile
July 12, 2006 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
MDA today announced that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system successfully destroyed a non-separating Hera target missile over White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The pre-dawn test was the third of five tests planned at White Sands Missile Range to determine the effectiveness of the THAAD system.
While the previous two THAAD flight tests, also conducted at White Sands Missile Range, were focused on interceptor fly-out and performance, the remaining flight test program is providing verification of the integrated THAAD element at increasingly difficult levels. Further testing is planned for both White Sands and in the Pacific. In all, the nine-year program to develop the defense system has cost about $4 billion.
“This was phenomenal,” said U.S. Army Col. Charles Driessnack, the project manager for the Missile Defense Agency’s THAAD program. “It performed as expected.” This specific test demonstrated THAAD’s ability to “completely destroy that warhead so that no chemical or nuclear residue would contaminate areas” below the explosion, Driessnack said.
The target was a Hera missile that closely mimicked the characteristics of a SCUD missile. The Hera target carried a canister of inert material to simulate chemical or biological elements such as could be mounted on an enemy missile, Driessnack said. The target missile rose roughly 200 miles above the Earth before beginning the final stage descent toward land.
Of particular interest are Driessnack’s comments that this test indicates THAAD could be ready for emergency deployment “as soon as a year from now.” Driessnack said the system could be used “to protect our East and West coasts” from missile attack, and will be readily deployable to any region, including as part of homeland defense protection.
THAAD is designed to destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in their terminal flight phase, just seconds before they hit their intended targets. MDA plans to deploy two THAAD units, each consisting of 24 missiles, the first in 2009 and the second by December 2011, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), White Sands Missile Range
Aegis SM-3 Interceptor Destroys Separating Target, Japanese Destroyer Performs Surveillance
June 22, 2006 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
MDA today conducted a successful test of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system, destroying a separating target with a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor. The warhead was launched atop a three-stage medium-range ballistic missile, which was detected, tracked, and targeted by Aegis AN/SPY-1 phased-array radars. A SM-3 interceptor was launched from the Aegis cruiser U.S.S. Shiloh off the coast of Hawaii, and scored a direct hit more than 160 km above the Pacific Ocean. The test marked the seventh time (out of eight attempts) that MDA has successfully shot down a target missile with a ship-launched interceptor, and the second time that Aegis has successfully intercepted a separating warhead. Also noteworthy is the fact that the Japanese destroyer Kirishima performed surveillance and tracking roles, marking the first time any U.S. ally has taken part in a U.S. missile defense intercept test. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Japan, Testing - American
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
U.S. Tests Minuteman-3 from Vandenberg
June 14, 2006 :: AP :: News
The U.S. Air Force today successfully test-launched an Minuteman-3 ICBM from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, reports the AP. The missile’s three unarmed reentry vehicles traveled approximately 7,700 km (4,800 miles) in 30 minutes before hitting their pre-determined targets at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands. According to Air Force officials, the launch’s main purpose was to demonstrate the operational effectiveness of the weapon system. The U.S. has about 500 Minuteman-3 missiles deployed in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. The recent Quadrennial Defense Review, however, called for a 10% reduction of the deployed Minuteman ICBMs, to 450. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - American
» Missile details: Minuteman I
» Missile system details for: Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS), Vandenberg Air Force Base
Patriot GEM Test Successful, Two Ballistic Missile Targets Destroyed
June 5, 2006 :: UPI :: News
Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM) successfully destroyed two ballistic missile targets during a recent test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Two GEMs were ripple-fired at an incoming Patriot-as-a-Target, an older Patriot missile modified to represent a short-range ballistic missile target. As the intercept occurred, the Patriot Configuration-3 radar detected, tracked, and engaged a second target. A third GEM intercepted the second Patriot-as-a-Target, thus successfully completing the test’s objectives. According to prime contractor Raytheon, this was the first of four flight tests that will use the newly developed post deployment build-6 (PDB-6) software. PDB-6 was the result of “lessons learned” from Operation Iraqi Freedom when Patriot units destroyed all nine Iraqi missiles launched at the invasion force, but also mistakenly shot down two coalition planes. The PDB-6 upgrade is intended to allow the Patriot system to better discriminate between ballistic missiles, aircraft, cruise missiles, and other battlefield targets. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2), White Sands Missile Range
Aegis SM-2 Interceptor Destroys Target in Successful Test
May 25, 2006 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The Missile Defense Agency conducted a successful test of a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2 Block IV) interceptor based on Aegis ships. Although the testing regime for the ship-launched Aegis system has been extraordinarily successful, this particular test marks the first time in which a ship-launched interceptor has ever destroyed a ballistic missile in its “terminal,” or descent phase. The Pearl Harbor-based Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie conducted the interception of a short-range target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii.
The intercept also tested whether a missile could be destroyed in its terminal phase by means of an explosive, with a blast nearby, as opposed to a purely kinetic interception: “In today’s test, the threat missile was completely destroyed by the combined effects of these two mechanisms,” according to the agency’s press release. The press release continued:
The modified Aegis Weapon System and the modified SM-2 Block IV provided the firing ship the capability to guide the missile to achieve either; 1) a direct body to body hit between the interceptor and the threat or, 2) a near-direct hit where the high pressure, heat and fragments are placed on the threat by a blast fragmentation warhead. This warhead is similar in concept to that used in the deployed Israeli Arrow system. In today’s test, the threat missile was completely destroyed by the combined effects of these two mechanisms.
“This is another example of the ongoing cooperative spirit between the Navy and the Missile Defense Agency,” said Rear Admiral Barry McCullough, Director, Surface Warfare, on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Of today’s test, Admiral McCullough commented that it represents “an important step towards the desired end-state of a robust sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense capability, and it begins to meet an immediate near-term concern of our Combatant Commanders.” The only current terminal defenses are the Patriot (PAC-3), which have not been deployed on ships.
The significance of sea-based terminal defenses is to provide a mobile capability such as could be deployed near or between an enemy’s missiles and their plausible destination. Specific applications which might be of “near term concern” to Combatant Commanders could include the potential posting of ships near a coastal target, whether near Japan or South Korea—or an American coast. (Article, Link)
» Jane’s on SM-2 terminal intercept
» More stories on: Allies, Sea-Based Systems, Ship-Launched Threat, Testing - American
