Attacking the Theater Mobile Ballistic Missile Threat
Abstract
The United States and its coalition partners achieved a decisive victory over Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Despite the spectacular overall success, the coalition had more trouble than expected neutralizing Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles. Many third world nations, besides Iraq, possess menacing theater ballistic missiles. Which technologies and systems will be most effective against mobile ballistic missiles? How should the United States implement selected technologies to deal with this challenge? It evaluates the most promising technical solutions to the mobile ballistic missile threat. To defeat the mobile missile threat with a high degree of confidence, the US must field an integrated system of both offensive and defensive weapons. Obviously the mobile launchers complicate the search problem. The central problem is how to find the missiles once they have deployed to the field. This paper addresses how best to accomplish attack operations against the mobile ballistic missiles before they launch. Offensive weapons, including manned and unmanned platforms, may perform this task. Active defense provides a second layer of defense. It locates, tracks, and shoots down theater ballistic missiles during their boost, mid-course, and terminal phases. Passive defense consists of hardening and dispersal actions to minimize damage from any missiles that manage to penetrate the first two layers of defense. Finally, an effective Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) layer connects the other three layers in a unified whole. This paper evaluates various proposed solutions for existing deficiencies in attack operations and active defense.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA426226
Entities
People
- David E. Snodgrass
Organizations
- Air University