US-Russian use of Azeri radar is not on agenda

Azeri Radar

BAKU – Joint use of the radar station in Azerbaijan by the United States and Russia is not on the agenda, the US Ambassador in Baku Matthew Bryza said Friday.

U.S. Confident in Capability to Intercept N. Korean Missiles

Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI)

The United States has the capability to intercept ballistic missiles from North Korea, a senior U.S. official has said.

LTG Patrick O’Reilly, director of the Missile Defense Agency, made the remarks at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday in response to a lawmaker who expressed “concerns about the ground-based midcourse defense system in Alaska and California,” citing “back-to-back flight test failures this past year.”

MDAA Alert: U.S. Homeland Missile Defense

Dear Members and Friends,

The number one priority for ballistic missile defense as stated and outlined clearly by President Barack Obama is the defense of the United States homeland. The American public demands, supports and expects ballistic missile defense for the protection of the U.S. homeland.

Cause of missile defense test failure unclear

Top military experts, including General James Cartwright, the Vice Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are not concerned with the failed intercept test earlier this week. While unsure of the cause Gen. Cartwright has said that he did not doubt that the U.S. has the “capability to defeat…a rouge threat.” The failed test was the second this year of the Ground-Based Interceptor.

Interceptor missile from VAFB misses target

Riki Ellison commented to the Lompoc Record about the failed Ground-Based interceptor test yesterday. He highlighted the need for more testing and funding to modernize the Ground-based Mid-course Defense system.

Boeing Missile System Misses Target for Second Time This Year, U.S. Says

The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) failed another test, its second in a row, yesterday. Both the GBI and the target missile launched successfully and all radars and systems performed to standard but their was no intercept. This marks the 7th failed intercept in 15 attempts for the Ground-Based Mid-course Defense (GMD) program.

MDAA Breaking News: Ground-Based Interceptor Test Fails

Dear Members and Friends,

This afternoon, north of Hawaii, above the atmosphere the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) failed to destroy an incoming intermediate-range target missile launched from Kwajalein Atoll. This is the second failure of our nation’s long range missile defense system under the testing program of the current administration and its Ballistic Missile Defense Review policy, released in February 2010 by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Two-Stage Missile Test is a Success

Spacewar.com

The Missile Defense Agency said Sunday’s test of the two-stage ground based interceptor was a success. The two-stage GBI is a version of the three-stage GBI and has been in development for some time.  The three-stage GBI is deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of the ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) system.  It is the nation’s only long range ballistic missile defense system.

The launch was only a flight test and there was no target launched.  The test missile was fully equipped with an operational Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV).  The piece is designed to intercept, collide and destory a threat missile’s warhead in space.

“Sunday’s test not only provided unique data that will allow us to characterize two-stage GBI performance, which enhances our models and simulations, but also took advantage of having an operational EKV on the booster to gather data on the entire GMD system,” said Norm Tew, Boeing Vice President and GMD Program Director.

The two-stage GBI has proven successful.  There may be a few more tests to gather preformance data.  However, according to MDA spokesman, Rick Leher, there are no plans to deploy them.

MDAA Alert: Our Nation’s Hedge

Dear Members and Friends,

Out of silo LF-24, nestled in a small berm alongside the Pacific Ocean at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California a two-staged Ground Base Interceptor (GBI) was launched.  This launch tested for the first time our nation’s hedge against Iran’s ballistic missiles and their capability to strike our soil over the next decade until the future SM-3 Block 2B missile is developed and deployed in 2020 or beyond.

The test at Vandenberg AFB validated the mature design of the two-stage GBI and tested the divert capability and other important data elements on the exoatmospheric kill vehicle placed on top of the missile.

GBI Test Failure Result of Two Problems

Ground-Based Interceptor

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has attributed the failed intercept of the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) during the January 31st missile test to two unrelated faults. A failure to recognize the target by the Sea-Based X-band radar (SBX) caused be “chuffing” and a faulty connector that caused mechancial failure in the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV).

Two unrelated factors contributed to the failure of a U.S. Missile Defense Agency Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) to destroy its target during a Jan. 31 flight test, Aviation Week has learned from multiple officials in the ballistic missile defense program.