one reason why I haven't been tracking military tech recently

[drewkitty]

I hate getting bad news. From War Nerd:

"I’ve been saying for a long time that aircraft carriers are just history’s most expensive floating targets, and that they were doomed." [Not incidentally, so has Robert A. Heinlein, starting shortly after 1945 with occasional mutters periodically since until he died.]

"But now I can tell you exactly how they’re going to die.



"I’ve just read one of the most shocking stories in years. It comes from the US Naval Institute, not exactly an alarmist or anti-Navy source. And what it says is that the US carrier group is scrap metal."

"The Chinese military has developed a ballistic missile, Dong Feng 21, specifically designed to kill US aircraft carriers:"

The carrier strike group is one of the cornerstones of American power.

I've personally worked out four ways to neutralize a CVBG without nukes. (Underwater installations on seamounts, air-dropped mines, saboteurs on the carrier and naval special operations divers.) However, the high speed terminal ballistic missile was not among them.

On the other hand, it is budget time. Cheers. This is the military establishment which keeps us safe in our beds at night.

Comments

[ihuitl.livejournal.com]

The Navy currently has three of its Ticonderoga class cruisers fitted out with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (ABMD) system, using the AEGIS radar system and the SM-3 Block IA missile. It has been in development since the mid-1990s and was shifted to the production phase in 2004. 15 Burke class destroyers are also in line for ABMD by the end of this year. The system has proven effective in killing ballistic missiles in the mid-boost phase prior to entry, and is currently being upgraded in light of continuing developments and tests.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_System

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

The key point here is "boost phase." Not re-entry phase, which is like hitting a bullet with a bullet.

Heinlein's point was that fighting from the bottom of the gravity well is very much like being at the base of a cliff with someone above you throwing rocks. Even if there's just an annoying guy spotting for you (as in the Gulf War), having the high ground is an enormous advantage.

[ihuitl.livejournal.com]

The Army currently has a number of re-entry phase interceptors that the Navy would likely want to make use of and develop further.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is built to destroy ballistic missiles during the re-entry phase, using kinetic energy projectiles. One unit at Ft. Bliss is already fielding the system (A Battery, 4th ADA Rgmt, 11th ADA Bde). This is likely the best bet for a Naval option in my view, and could be fitted like a CIWS system.

Patriot PAC-3 is another terminal phase ABM system; these aren't your daddy's Patriots: this block proved effective during OIF in shooting down Iraqi ballistic missiles. Patriot itself is scheduled to be replaced by the Medium Extended Air Defense System, which will enter testing phase in 2011.