Ballistic Missile Defense Sensors

Abstract

The Missile Defense System (MDS) network of layered Sensors provides essential situational awareness and fire control data for the command and control of MDS weapon systems, such as Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). The suite of remote ground-based sensors provides early warning, midcourse, and terminal missile defense threat data. This data enables layered detection and tracking of missile targets, providing fire-control quality position, velocity, and discrimination data through GMD Fire Control (GFC), or Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC). Overlapping coverage of geographically diverse sensors provides improved threat track data, reduces the impact of the loss of any one sensor, and reduces the potential impact of countermeasures. The extended coverage and accuracy provided by a network of layered sensors increases the defensive footprint and reduces the number of target engagements required, thereby conserving interceptor inventory and maintaining a high probability of successful engagement. Networked forward-based sensors enable C2BMC to pair the best sensor coverage with the best available weapon system to provide the most effective defense against missile threats. This program element includes MDS threat discrimination improvements, which will enhance MDS effectiveness against the evolving adversary threat. The result will be a MDS architecture more capable of discriminating and destroying reentry vehicles with a higher degree of confidence, improving Warfighter shot doctrine, and more efficiently using interceptor inventory. MDS threat discrimination improvements are funded from the Enabling (0603890C), Midcourse (0603882C), BMD Sensors (0603884C), C2BMC (0603896C), and Aegis BMD (0603892C) PEs. The BMD Sensors Program contributes to regional and homeland missile defense through the development, delivery, and deployment/redeployment of Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control (AN/TPY-2) radars for operations or tests. AN/TPY-2 radars can be configured to operate as either a THAAD Fire Unit Radar (terminal mode) or Forward-Based Radar. These radars are transportable and add flexibility to respond to geographical changes in threats. Radars provide early warning tracking and discrimination data through all phases of missile flight. Through the MDS C2BMC and coalition data links, the AN/TPY-2 provides fire control data to enable remote Standard Missile (SM)-3 engagements by Aegis BMD, and to cue deployed THAAD and U.S. and partner PATRIOT (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target) batteries. The MDS sensor network includes: the Cobra Dane Radar at Eareckson Air Station, AK, the Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWRs) at Beale Air Force Base, CA; Fylingdales Royal Air Force, United Kingdom; and Thule Air Base, Greenland, for defense of the homeland. The Clear Ultra High Frequency Early Warning Radar (EWR), at Clear Air Force Station, AK, and the Cape Cod EWR, at Cape Cod Air Force Station, MA, are also being upgraded to include missile defense functionality against long-range threats in addition to their existing Missile Warning and Space Domain Awareness missions. Upgrade activities began in CY 2012 and are now projected to complete in early CY 2022 due to current UEWR operational configuration emergency maintenance required by United States Space Force (USSF) and COVID-19 challenges throughout CY 2020 and early CY 2021 that hampered radar site access for operational testing. The addition of the Clear UEWR and Cape Cod UEWRs to the MDS sensor architecture improves MDS sensor coverage and provides new engagement options against long-range missile threats from Northeast Asia and Southwest Asia respectively. This program element also supports the planning and deployment of persistent radars. Cyber Operations sustain the Risk Management Framework (RMF) and Controls Validation Testing (CVT) activities, analysis of validation results, risk assessments, reviews of Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), and alignment and integration to the Tier 2 Cybersecurity Service Provider (CSSP) for the Sensors mission system.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2022
Source ID
0603884C_4_0400_PB_2022
Change Summary Explanation
Decrease in FY 2021 reflects Congressional reduction for MD11 Modeling and Simulation development unjustified growth. Decrease in FY 2022 predominately reflects the realignment of Layered Homeland Defense funds to proper MDA program elements to implement refined program architecture.
Service Agency Name
Missile Defense Agency

Entities

Organizations

  • Missile Defense Agency

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Battle Management
  • Command And Control
  • Computer Security Techniques
  • Cybersecurity
  • Defense Systems
  • Deployment
  • Early Warning Systems
  • Information Security
  • Information Systems
  • Logistics
  • Manufacturing
  • Radio Frequency
  • Space Force
  • Supply Chain
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States Strategic Command

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
  • Space
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Space Objects

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