Ballitic Missile Defense System - Target Launched From Kodiak Akaska



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Dave

Ballitic Missile Defense System - Target Launched From Kodiak Akaska

Isn?t it funny how news like this is greeted with a collective yawn
from most of the media?

It?s another example of what they call in the journalism world a ?dog
bites man? event.

Boeing announced this weekend a successful intercept of a ballistic
missile in space of its mission representative exo-atmospheric kill
vehicle. In the past, there would have been much made of this
successful test, but now, it?s only news of a test fails ? the ?man
bites dog? event.

The test of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system began at
4:01 p.m. Eastern when a long-range ballistic missile target lifted
off from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska. Seventeen minutes later,
military operators launched an interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force
Base, Calif. As the interceptor flew toward the target, it received
target data updates from the upgraded missile-warning radar at Beale
Air Force Base, Calif. After flying into space, the interceptor
released its exoatmospheric kill vehicle, which proceeded to track,
intercept and destroy the target warhead.

The test, GMD's seventh intercept overall, was the second intercept
with an operationally configured interceptor since September 2006.

?With another intercept under our belts, we have even greater
confidence that the GMD system, if called upon in a real-world
scenario, will defend the nation against a limited ballistic missile
attack," said Scott Fancher, Boeing vice president and program
director for GMD. The Boeing-led test was highly complex, involving a
wide range of assets, including the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX). SBX,
a powerful new sea-based sensor developed by Boeing, tracked the
target missile to prepare for the next GMD flight test, which will see
SBX provide target updates to an in-flight interceptor for the first
time.

I guess it?s an example of how far the missile defense debate has
come. It?s no longer about whether you can ?hit a bullet with a
bullet,? as opponents used to say, was impossible. Now the debate is
more about whether a radar in the Czech Republic will alienate the
increasingly paranoid Russian government.

GMD defends the nation against a limited number of long-range
ballistic missiles, with interceptors deployed in underground silos at
Vandenberg and Ft. Greely, Alaska. An integral element of the global
ballistic missile defense system, GMD also consists of radars, other
sensors, command-and-control facilities, communications terminals and
a 20,000-mile fiber optic communications network. The U.S. government
has announced plans to extend this capability to Europe.

Yes it has been expensive. Yes it?s been a long time coming. Yes there
are many more hurdles to overcome. But the fact that this story gained
little traction, is an even louder endorsement of the system than the
actual space kill.

Article provided by www.defensetech.org
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