Missile Defense Systems : Risks And Benefits

The impact made by ADA forces spanned over many countries, the main ones being Germany, Israel, Turkey and Iraq. Using their newest developed missiles, Patriot Antitactical ballistic missile Capability, phase 1 (PAC-1) and Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2), the Iraqi army had nothing as a comparable counterpart (Burr, 2001). These missiles were 17 feet, 5 inches in length, had a warhead with 221 pounds of high explosive, and could fly at Mach 3 up to 78,000 feet in altitude with a range of 43 miles (Leyden, 1997). The radar, control station, and launchers were all connected via computer, activating when a launch was detected and the “highest probability of a kill [was] obtained” (Burr, 2001). The newer PAC-2 missiles were capable of self-guidance with track-via-missile software and were more effective than their PAC-1

Air Defense had a prominent involvement in The Persian Gulf War. The Patriot missile system demonstrated its effectiveness in combat in 1990 and United States (U.S.) forces as well as Iraqi forces utilized the Homing All the Way Killer (HAWK) missile system. Air Defense’s considerable involvement in the Persian Gulf War accredited to the developments and capabilities of the Patriot missile system along with the HAWK missile system’s Iraqi dilemma.

The Avenger is capable of eliminating the same threats as the Stinger missile system. The Counter, Rocket, Artillery, Mortar system, also referred to as the CRAM, is a combination of a gun called Phalanx and a Sentinel Radar. A Sentinel Radar for spotting incoming rockets and mortars. The Phalanx and Sentinel work together to eliminate rocket and mortar threats.

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

The missile system reduced Scud annoyance and effectiveness. Patriot’s mission to counteract air born threats was an overall success. This war was a major demonstration of U.S. air defense capability. Although every fire did not successfully destroy its target, it exemplified extraordinary accuracy. The Patriot world is continuously evolving. Modifications to the software has been made, and today’s system has multiple intercept mechanisms. PAC 2 in no longer the only source of air defense capability. The PAC 3, a more sophisticated missile defense system, has a more accurate interception rate. A growing technology, and it will continue to expand in the future, air defense is here to

It influenced future generations of soldiers and equipment to advance both tactically and technically, greatly increasing the multi-role diversity and capabilities of the Air Defense Artillery systems of today’s United States Army. Compared to the Patriot Launcher Missile system, it showed that Air Defense units could be multifaceted. Like the M42 Duster (SPAAG), the Patriot system demonstrated excellent destruction ratio for aircraft but the system also worked well in defense of TBM’s (Tactical Ballistic

After the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers and subsequently a period of tension and hostility arose, known as the Cold War. During this time, a new possibility of complete nuclear destruction that would claim the lives of many emerged, therefore “the easing or relaxing of tensions” on both sides was needed, this period would be known as detente. Both countries had been guaranteed mutually assured destruction as they had both managed to stay ahead in the development of nuclear arsenals. By the late 1960s the Soviets had surpassed the United States in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) by 1,300 to 1,054. Although the U.S was still

The Department of Defense oversees all of the nation’s armed forces and this includes those that are specially trained to handle nuclear devices. During the height of the Cold War the leaders of the Department of Defense, constructed a plan to be able to fend off any nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. They came up with what is known as the “Triad.” This Triad is a combination of the Navy’s ballistic missile submarines, the

Thirtythree years ago President Ronald Reagan issued an astonishing reversal of America’s national security strategy. Rather than basing American security on the presumption that an attack by one superpower on the other would result in the unleashing of a catastrophic retaliatory strike, Reagan committed the United States to pursuing a strategy of defending against offensive missiles. The plan he set to action was the Strategic Defense Initiative(SDI) or “The Star Wars Plan.” This was a system of base ground units and orbital deployment platforms.

In today’s digital age, development of new technology and weapons are at an alarming rate, hence arises the need to stay ahead of advancements in order to properly defend the nation, as well as coalition forces and allies. In this period of warfare, the number one threat comes in the form of air breathing and ballistic missiles. During World War II, this threat was present, but was not thought to be prevalent.

The Patriot Advanced Capability 2 version acquired the capability to operate against other missiles, beyond just aircrafts, by the US armed forces through an improved fuse and warhead in comparison to the PAC-1 (Maital & Seshadri, 2012). Furthermore, the US Army made changes to not only the software of the PAC-2 missile but the radar system which guided it. These improvements gave the missiles the ability to intercept other missiles which was different than previous models. Interception in this case was not considered just the capability to knock a missile off course but to destroy them which was the objective of this product. Beyond physical attributes, it acquired them through the recognition that tactile ballistic missiles were all over Europe and increased threats, prompting improvements to occur (Maital & Seshadri, 2012).

Next, America uses missile defence systems to protect us from nuclear attacks. These systems include orbital satellites, naval ships, and platform systems. Platform systems or THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) is a defence system that keeps ICBM

The first six paragraphs on the first page is where the author begins to provide a background on missile defense. Although outside research has found the provided background to be true, one critique of the piece is that Dowd gives many acronyms without defining what they are. For example, in the first paragraph Dowd

1948). It is essential to ground forces success that they receive anti-aircraft support. Before, during and after World War 2 we are able to perceive more clearly the significance of Air Defense Artillery (ADA) in the twenty first century. Air Defense Artillery’s roots travel as far back as to the revolutionary war. Understanding that during those times there was no such thing as airplanes but keep an open mind as to where we are heading here. Air Defense Artillery originated from the Coast Artillery Corps who were the guardians of the coast from incoming aggressive ships and boats. It was during World War 1 (WW1) that the army realized the need for

In 1968, the Soviet Union came up with a new development- the building of antiballistic missiles defence systems. These were to be used for nuclear, chemical, biological or even conventional warheads in the homeland defence of such a strike because they were designed to counter ICBM’s. As a method to counter this development, United States came up with multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRV’s) which improved the chances of avoiding detection by ABM systems. In addition to this, United States also developed its own IBM in order to match that of Soviet Union.