ARLINGTON, Va., April 21 (UPI) -- Any ballistic missile defense system deployed by the United States needs to be multilayered to have any real hope of effective operation.
Terminal defenses alone are insufficient operationally and leave the initiative in the hands of the attacker. An attacker can hope to overwhelm a terminal system or simply force the defender to play a guessing game with respect to what targets to defend. Even if an intercept of an incoming nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile is successful, a terminal-only defense still permits debris to rain down on an area around the target.
Layered defenses offer a number of advantages -- including more engagement opportunities, the ability to use different phenomenology and attack mechanisms against the incoming missile or its payload, the ability to undermine countermeasure strategies and the ability by the defense to apply preferential engagement strategies.
A layered system takes the initiative away from the attacker. The more layers there are, the more effective the defense and the greater the ability to both defeat an attack and defend targets.
Mobility is another characteristic that should be part of any missile defense architecture. Mobile defenses can respond to changes in the threat, reinforce fixed defenses or address the emergence of new threats. Mobile defenses can be less politically difficult for friends and allies to accept than fixed deployments.
With the addition of boost-phase systems, the armed forces of the United States will eventually be able to provide a layered defense and seize the initiative from the attacker.
A boost-phase system operates in that portion of the flight trajectory when a ballistic missile is most vulnerable and countermeasures are the most difficult to employ. Boost-phase defenses are particularly useful against long-burning intercontinental ballistic missiles such as those being developed by North Korea and Iran. At the same time, a boost-phase system is relatively less effective against shorter-burning intercontinental ballistic missiles powered by solid fuels such as those that have been deployed by Russia.
A boost-phase capability is particularly valuable in the absence of adequate midcourse discrimination or in the presence of complex threats employing countermeasures. A boost system will still need capable sensors to provide rapid and accurate target tracking.
Mobile boost-phase defenses are important because they provide strategic agility, operational flexibility, low visibility -- until needed -- and reassurance to allies while imposing uncertainty on the attacker.
Depending on the type of boost-phase weapon system that is available, potential deployment locations can be predetermined and supporting capabilities deployed without raising the overall visibility of the commitment to defend forward.
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Part 3: The characteristics that any boost-phase component of U.S. ballistic missile defense will need to have.
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(Daniel Goure is vice president of the Lexington Institute, an independent think tank in Arlington, Va.)
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(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)
