Ballistic Missile Defense Improvements Needed In THAAD Acquisition Planning.
Abstract
The $17.9 billion THAAD is a ground-based weapon system being developed by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and the Army to defeat theater ballistic missiles. It supports the national objective of protecting U.S. and allied deployed forces, population centers, and industrial facilities from theater missile attacks. The THAAD system consists of four major components: (1) truck-mounted launchers, (2) interceptors, (3) the radar system, and (4) the battle management/command, control, communication, computer, and intelligence (BM/C41) system. The launcher is to provide rapid reload of interceptors. Each interceptor is to consist of a single stage booster and a kill vehicle that is designed to autonomously home on an enemy missile during the last phase of interceptor flight and destroy the missile by colliding with it, called 'hit-to-kill.' The radar is being designed to support the full range of surveillance, target tracking, and fire control functions and provide a communications link with THAAD interceptors in flight. The BM/C41 system is to manage and integrate all THAAD components and link the THAAD system to other missile defense systems to support an interoperable theater missile defense architecture. Figure 1 shows THAAD as the upper tier in a two-tier theater missile defense architecture.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 12, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA329254
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office