To begin with, we will voice a few theses:
1. At the moment, not a single missile defense (ABM) system is capable of fully parrying a blow inflicted by a great power - Russia, the United States, China, Great Britain, France, carried out simultaneously by several hundred carriers with hundreds to thousands of warheads.
2. Clause 1 is relevant only if there are no international treaties limiting the number of nuclear charges and their carriers.
3. Despite the announced theses # 1 and # 2, the United States will increase the effectiveness of the missile defense system in order to increase the likelihood and number of intercepted targets.
US National Missile Defense
A new stage in the creation of a missile defense system began on July 23, 1999, when US President Bill Clinton signed a bill on the creation of a National Missile Defense (NMD), within which it was planned to protect not a limited area, as prescribed by the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, but the entire territory of the North American states. The official reason for the creation of an NMD was the proliferation of missile weapons among the "rogue countries." Of the entire American list of "outcasts" at that time, only North Korea could be considered a threat at a stretch. The rest did not have any intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching US soil or nuclear warheads that could be deployed on them. And the ability of North Korea to hit the continental states is in question even now.
In the same 1999, the United States tested a prototype NMD, hitting the Minuteman ICBM with a training warhead, and on December 13, 2001, President George W. Bush officially announced the unilateral US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
As in the case of the SDI program, the new NMD system was supposed to ensure the defeat of ballistic missiles in all flight phases, as stated in the memorandum of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on January 2, 2002, but unlike the SDI program, the number of intercepted missiles should be limited.
The created US NMD can be divided into theater missile defense (theater missile defense) and strategic missile defense.
SAM Patriot PAC-3
The theater missile defense includes mobile surface-to-air missile systems (SAM) Patriot PAC-3, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles of operational-tactical missile systems (OTRK). As the practice of military conflicts has shown, the effectiveness of the Patriot air defense system of the previous versions of the PAC-1 and PAC-2 was not high even for outdated Soviet missiles of the Scud type. It is still impossible to predict how the meeting between the Iskander-type OTRK missile and the Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile system will end.
The range and height of destruction of ballistic targets of the Patriot PAC-3 air defense system are about twenty kilometers. The maximum speed of targets hit is no more than 1800 meters per second. The disadvantages of the Patriot PAC-3 air defense system include the need to orient the launchers in the direction from which the enemy's missile strike is expected.
THAAD missile defense complex
A much more advanced theater missile defense weapon is the THAAD missile defense system, which has been developed by Lockheed since 1992. Since 2006, the US armed forces have begun serial purchases of the THAAD missile defense system. The missile of the THAAD missile defense system is equipped with an infrared homing head (IR seeker) with an uncooled matrix operating in the ranges of 3, 3 - 3, 8 microns and 7 - 10 microns. The target is hit by a direct hit - kinetic interception, there is no warhead.
The maximum range and height of target destruction is about 200 kilometers. The THAAD missile defense system is capable of striking medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of up to 3,500 kilometers, flying at speeds of up to 3.5 kilometers per second.
The search for targets is carried out by the X-band radar of the AN / TPY-2 complex with a maximum detection range of about 1000 kilometers.
The disadvantage of the THAAD missile defense complex is its high cost, according to some data, amounting to about three billion dollars for the complex, of which over five hundred million falls on the cost of the AN / TPY-2 radar. In addition to supplying its own armed forces, the United States is actively arming its allies with THAAD missile defense systems.
Aegis missile defense system
The most advanced element of theater missile defense can be considered a shipborne air defense system, created on the basis of a multifunctional weapon control system Aegis (Aegis) modified to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles with vertical-launch anti-missiles of the Standard family.
Originally developed as an air defense system for US Navy ships, the Aegis system has been redesigned to be capable of hitting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. Also, the Aegis system ensures the destruction of objects in near space.
The core of the Aegis missile defense system is the eponymous naval combat information and control system (BIUS) used on guided missile (URO) cruisers of the Ticonderoga type and URO destroyers of the Arlie Burke type. In total, the US Navy has about 67 Arleigh Burke-class URO destroyers and 22 Ticonderoga-class URO cruisers equipped with Aegis BIUS. In total, it is planned to build 87 Arleigh Burke-class URO destroyers, while Ticonderoga-class URO cruisers will gradually be decommissioned, as well as early Arlie Burke-class URO destroyers. It should be noted that it is the SM-3 interceptor missiles that not all URO ships can carry, but all of them can be upgraded to solve this problem.
It was assumed that by 2020 about 500-700 SM-3 interceptor missiles could be deployed on the ships of the American Navy, all in all, the number of cells in universal vertical launch launchers (UVP) of American URO ships theoretically makes it possible to place about 8000-9000 interceptor missiles (subject to failure from loading other types of anti-aircraft missiles, ship-to-ship and ship-to-ground missiles).
Of all theater missile defense systems, the Aegis missile defense system can be considered the most effective, promising and dangerous. Its effectiveness is due to the highest characteristics for a weapon of this class.
The Aegis missile defense system includes a multifunctional three-coordinate radar with a phased antenna array (PAR) AN / SPY-1 with a detection range of over 500 kilometers, the ability to track 250-300 targets and aim up to 18 missiles at them (characteristics may vary depending on the modification Radar).
Three-stage SM-3 interceptor missiles of various modifications are used as an anti-missile. The maximum target destruction range for the latest modification of the SM-3 Block IIA is 2500 kilometers, the target hitting altitude is 1500 kilometers (most likely external target designation is required). The anti-missile speed is about 4.5-5 kilometers per second.
The target is hit by an exoatmospheric kinetic interceptor equipped with its own correction engines that provide course correction within five kilometers. Target capture is carried out by a matrix uncooled infrared homing head from a distance of up to 300 kilometers.
The Aegis missile defense system is constantly being improved both in terms of hardware and software. If the Aegis missile defense system of version BMD 3.6.1 from 2008 was capable of shooting down ballistic missiles with a range of up to 3500 kilometers, then in version BMD 4.0.1 of 2014 and BMD 5.0.1 of 2016, ballistic missiles with a range of up to 5500 kilometers, and in the BMD 5.1.1 version of 2020-2022, it is planned to ensure the possibility of defeating ICBMs in certain sections of the trajectory.
The list of targets, albeit training ones, hit by the Aegis missile defense system is also impressive: in 2007, a group (2 units) ballistic target was successfully intercepted at an altitude of about 180 kilometers; in 2008, an emergency reconnaissance satellite USA-193 was shot down at an altitude of 247 kilometers. in 2011, a successful interception of an intermediate-range ballistic missile was carried out; in 2014, a simultaneous interception of two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean was carried out.
The prospect of the Aegis missile defense system is due to the possibility of further improving its characteristics and deploying a large number of these systems in the land version, on the territory of American bases abroad and on the territory of allied countries, including at their own expense. In particular, the appearance of a ground-based version of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system immediately increased the geography of the deployment of this type of missile defense system, created new points of tension between states and blocs. Do not forget that, like the ship's system, the Aegis Ashore missile defense system can be used to deploy stealth cruise missiles, which in turn can be used to deliver a surprise disarming strike in conjunction with other means of attack.
The danger of the Aegis missile defense system is due to the large ammunition load of interceptor missiles on board the ship, the range of the interceptor missiles and the mobility of the carriers themselves, which, if even approximate patrol routes for Russian strategic missile submarine cruisers (SSBNs) are discovered, allows not only hunting them by submarines-hunters, but also to keep surface ships with the Aegis missile defense system in the proposed SSBN patrol area, capable of intercepting launching ICBMs in pursuit (the speed of Aegis missile defense missiles is up to five kilometers per second!).
Strategic ABM GBMD
Ground-based midcourse defense (GBMD) was commissioned in 2005, and to this day is the only missile defense system capable of defeating ICBMs.
The GBMD missile defense system includes three PAVE PAWS radars with an active phased antenna array and a target detection range of about 2000 kilometers, as well as a mobile SBX X-band radar located on a towed offshore platform (former CS-50 oil platform), with a target detection range, with effective dispersion surface 1 square meter, up to 4900 kilometers. Taking into account the mobility of the SBX radar, the GBMD missile defense system can hit ICBMs virtually anywhere in the world.
The strike means of the GBMD missile defense system is a three-stage solid-propellant ground-based interceptor missile - Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), designed to launch the EKV transatmospheric kinetic interceptor into near-earth space. The missile has a range of 2,000 to 5,500 kilometers, with a maximum launch altitude of 2,000 kilometers. In this case, in fact, the speed of the transatmospheric kinetic interceptor EKV can be higher than the first space interceptor, that is, in fact, it is launched into the Earth's orbit and can hit a target at any point above the planet. Currently, the United States has deployed 44 interceptor missiles in Alaska and California, and it is planned to deploy an additional 20 interceptor missiles in Alaska.
The current capabilities of the GBMD missile defense system can only engage ICBMs with a monoblock warhead. Development of the Multi Object Kill Vehicle (MKV) cluster interceptor was frozen in 2009, presumably due to technical difficulties, but presumably was resumed in 2015. The MKV concept involves the installation of several interceptors on one carrier, for which their mass is supposed to be significantly reduced. Two options are under consideration: MKV-L (Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company) and MKV-R (Raytheon Company). In the MKV-L version, the interceptor guidance is provided by a single carrier that does not itself engage the target. In the MKV-R variant, all interceptors are equipped with a single set of equipment, but during the attack, one of them becomes the “master” and distributes targets between the “slaves” (recalls the “wolf pack” principle declared for the Russian Granit anti-ship missiles).
In case of successful development, MKV interceptors are planned to be installed not only on the GBI missiles of the strategic GBMD missile defense, but also on the SM-3 block IIA missile defense system "Aegis", as well as the mobile ground-based KEI missile defense system under development.
Why is such a complex and layered missile defense system being built? For North Korea to repeat the fate of Iraq and Yugoslavia? It is unlikely that such a missile defense system is too expensive. For this money, three times you can arrange "perestroika" in North Korea in the image and likeness of the one implemented in the USSR, or decompose it "into atoms" if you try to resist. But "After all, if the stars are lit - does it mean that someone needs it?", Is it possible that the US missile defense system is needed to hunt larger game than North Korea?
Truth-bearer Donald
So, the masks are off. Now it is no longer said that the American missile defense system is aimed only against Iran or North Korea. Now Russia and China are clearly indicated as targets, and even the most die-hard liberals cannot deny this. No, you can't formally pick on, they said that missile defense is being created against "rogue countries", so no one broke the words, just Russia and the PRC were ranked among the "outcasts".
For overly optimistic "hurray patriots" who believe that the US missile defense against Russia is useless, one can quote the words of the First Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Viktor Poznikhir, pronounced on April 24, 2019 at the VIII Moscow Conference on International Security.
Output
With regard to the confrontation between the United States and Russia, the missile defense system cannot be categorically considered separately from the means of delivering a sudden disarming strike. As pointless as the US missile defense system now and in the near future if Russia uses all available nuclear weapons, the missile defense system is dangerous if most of the Russian nuclear deterrent is destroyed by a sudden disarming strike.
Questions for further consideration. How is the US missile defense evolving in the medium term? How dangerous will it be in the context of a sudden disarming strike? By what means can such a blow be delivered in the medium term and to what consequences will it lead?
