Obama's New Missile Interceptor Successful

June 27, 2012 - PRLog -- “Enveloped with calculation in the depths of darkness bearing on midnight in Hawaii, flames of ignition lit up the black night and shook the grounds of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) as a medium range missile accelerated out of its launch pad to streak through the clear midnight sky of the Pacific. A missile with a substantial range, using a second separating stage representing a much more sophisticated and realistic ballistic target reflecting the modernized Iranian and North Korean ballistic missiles currently in their inventories. In those five minutes of white lightening, prior to being struck down successfully, the USS Lake Erie a few hundred miles off the coast of Kauai acquired, tracked with its AN/SPY-1 Radar and 4.0.1 processor created a firing solution, launched  a SM-3 Block IB interceptor, updated that interceptor in its flight,  placed  the "Kinetic Warhead" of the interceptor close to the target and relied on the new "Kinetic Warhead" to successfully intercept this separating medium-range target high in space, which it did at 11:20PM Hawaiian Time. This successful intercept enabled the full capability of the new sea and land based interceptor, the SM-3 Block IB and provided needed confidence for the U.S. Navy to deploy it and the U.S. Congress to acquire it.”    

“This test required both of the dual pluses firing back to back on the third stage in the SM-3 Block IB to extend its range in delivering the new ‘Kinetic Warhead’ close with its more efficient Throttleable Divert Attitude Control (TDAC) system and its two color infrared (IR) seeker to discriminate, process and target the correct object to collide with amazing precision in the direct path of that identified incoming medium-range separating target.”

“A separating stage of a solid fueled medium range ballistic missile produces chucks of debris and matter that provide a slew of objects for the IR seeker of the kinetic warhead to define in calculating the correct target to intercept. This type of discrimination becomes helpful with counter measures and decoys that may be deployed in more advanced modernized missiles. Having a dual color IR seeker that separates shades of color of debris and multiple objects resolves definition of acquiring the correct target with much more confidence and precision allowing a greater success against sophisticated separating realistic ballistic missile targets of medium ranges.”  

“This successful SM-3 Block IB test is significant for several reasons:

-   Immediate protection and capability for the U.S. Navy's 5th and 7th Fleets from Iran and North Korea's medium-range and more sophisticated missiles

-   The critical foundation missile for the deployment of Aegis Ashore sits in Romania and Poland as well as on Aegis BMD ships of the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet in President Obama promised protection by of Europe from Medium Range Ballistic Missiles

-   Replacement of the now 10-year-old life cycle termination of retiring SM-3 Block IA missiles for the U.S. Navy

-   The second out of three successful intercept tests required for the SM-3 Block IB certification by U.S. Congress to make a decision to acquire these missiles. The third SM-3 Block IB test is scheduled for this September of this year.

-   The technical pathway and confidence for successful SM3 IIA development and deployment.”

Ellison closed his comments with:  “This new missile and its Aegis BMD platforms are absolutely vital for security and peace in the world today and tomorrow.”