Ballistic Missile Defense Midcourse Defense Segment

Abstract

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) provides combatant commanders with a continuously available (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) capability to defend the Homeland against limited Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) attacks. The GMD capability consists of Ground Based Interceptors (GBI), GMD Fire Control system (GFC), GMD Communications Network (GCN), In-Flight Interceptor Communications System (IFICS) Data Terminal (IDT) and ground Launch Support Systems (LSS). By the end of 2017, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will have 44 operationally deployed GBIs located at Fort Greely, Alaska (40 GBIs) and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (4 GBIs). Each GBI delivers a single Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) to defeat threat warheads in space during the midcourse phase of the ballistic trajectory. The GFC consists of fire control nodes in Fort Greely, Alaska and Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC) Colorado Springs, Colorado. IDTs are currently located in Fort Greely, Alaska: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Eareckson Air Station, Alaska; and Fort Drum, New York. The GMD capability leverages integration of BMDS sensors in Alaska, California, United Kingdom, Japan, and Greenland. Development objectives for GMD include: improve homeland defensive capability against an evolving threat that is increasing both in number of missiles and complexity of threat payloads, support Salvo Flight Test-11, modernize the GMD ground system, provide fire control and communications, develop GBI software enhancements that improve reliability and discrimination, improve GMD models and simulations, and participate with other BMDS assets in system ground tests.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2018
Source ID
0603882C_4_0400_PB_2018
Change Summary Explanation
The increase from PB17 to PB18 in FY 2018 begins work to ensure no fewer than 44 GBIs are deployed through the FYDP.
Service Agency Name
Missile Defense Agency

Entities

Organizations

  • Missile Defense Agency

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Battle Management
  • Configuration Management
  • Control Systems
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Defense Systems
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Fire Control Systems
  • Information Systems
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Maintenance
  • Manufacturing
  • Product Development
  • Reliability
  • Software Development
  • Supply Chain
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites

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