Cruise Missile Defense

Abstract

Congress has expressed interest in cruise missile defense for years. Cruise missiles (CMs) are essentially unmanned attack aircraft -- vehicles composed of an airframe, propulsion system, guidance system, and weapons payload. They may possess highly complex navigation and targeting systems and thus have the capability to sustain low, terrain-hugging flight paths as well as strike with great accuracy. CMs can be launched from numerous platforms -- air-, land-, or sea-based -- and they can be outfitted with either conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Department of Defense is pursuing several initiatives that seek to improve capabilities against an unpredictable cruise missile threat. These initiatives compete for funding and congressional attention. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 02, 2005
Accession Number
ADA467773

Entities

People

  • Christopher Bolkcom
  • Ravi R. Hichkad

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Cooperative Engagement Capability
  • Cruise Missiles
  • Defense Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • Directed Energy Weapons
  • National Security
  • Radar
  • Radio Equipment
  • United States Strategic Command
  • Warfare
  • Weapons
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Space