Space News by Mike Fabey — August 15, 2017
North Korea’s threat to strike Guam with a salvo of ballistic missiles has raised the stakes for a U.S. missile shield some see as compromised by potentially exploitable seams in its all-important space layer.
Years of program changes, delays and cancellations have created gaps in parts of the space-based layer of the missile defense shield meant to protect the United States and some allies from ballistic missile attacks, say military space analysts, although U.S. missile defense officials dispute such claims.
“The biggest deficiency in current U.S. missile defense plans is the absence of a satellite constellation for reliably tracking ballistic threats during the midcourse of their trajectory,” said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer and space analyst for the Lexington Institute think tank based in Washington.
“Once boosters burn out and warheads are coasting through space, their signatures become difficult to detect — especially if an attacker is using penetration aids like decoys to confuse defenders,” he said.
Of mounting concern, said John Pike, military analyst for GlobalSecurity.com, is the possibility that North Korea or Iran will “get more serious” about their submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
If that happens, he said, “the whole thing will require a complete rethink.”
While intercontinental ballistic missiles lofted high over Alaska might give the U.S. time to fire its ground- and sea-based interceptors, Pike said, “All of this is out the window for [sub-launched missiles] coming in from the Caribbean or from tramp container ships,” he said.
The first set of additional assets the U.S. would need to counter such attacks, he said, are more spaced-based infrared sensors.
Those responsible for defending the U.S. from ballistic missile attack disagree there is any gap against existing threats.
“There is no current vulnerability,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, the Missile Defense Agency’s director, told SpaceNews. The U.S. he said, “operates a variety of satellite and ground sensors that actively provide early-warning support and that meet the current threat.”
While other U.S. officials said they remain confident in the existing system to protect against current threats, they bemoan the shortage of space-based sensors and systems.
Speaking to reporters in late July, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, chief of U.S. Strategic Command, said space-based sensors are the most urgent need for U.S. missile defense and he called for increased sensor capabilities.
More:
http://spacenews.com/north-korea-puts-spotlight-on-u-s-space-based-missile-defense/
