Gates Defends Plans to Trim MDA Budget
By Amy Butler
Fort Rucker, Ala. 
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is defending his plan to trim $1.4 billion in research projects from the Missile Defense Agency’s annual budget, in turn boosting spending for production of Raytheon SM-3 interceptors and the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system.
During a brief press conference here April 14, Gates said his plans are in line with continued concern over North Korea’s efforts to develop long-range missile capabilities. He said he plans to examine options for shoring up boost-phase defenses, including some programs that he says are classified.
The Boeing-led Airborne Laser (ABL) is not mature enough to progress into an acquisition effort, he says.
Gates was here to get firsthand input from Army helicopter pilots and training officials on how to boost output of helicopter crews to support war efforts abroad. He took a reporters question on missile defense during the press conference.
Last week, Gates did not propose cuts to the other major leg of MDA’s boost-phase efforts, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI). A Northrop Grumman-led team just completed a dress rehearsal of the first KEI launch, which is scheduled for this summer, company officials say.
The preparations included ground operations, range safety vehicle preparation using inert rocket motors, and flight-qualified structures.
A Northrop-Raytheon-Alliant Techsystems industry team is developing the interceptor, which is designed to rapidly collide with ascending ballistic missiles before they begin to arc. The hit-to-kill design mirrors Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptors, which are designed to take out enemy targets later in the flight sequence.
Uncertainty in the way forward on boost-phase defenses is making KEI officials eager to execute the first flight on time and as planned. The goal is to fly both stages. The first stage is expected to burn about 35 seconds, with the second stage burning for another 24 seconds. The KEI interceptor will launch from an above-ground test stand at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Orbital Sciences oversaw integration of the booster for the dress rehearsal, and managed range preparations. Once assembled, the booster was transported to the launch site. The surrogate booster was lifted onto the launch stool, and countdown was executed. This allowed the team to run through the countdown to be used during the test flight.
KEI is envisioned to be mobile on land, thus providing greater system flexibility than the Orbital Boost Vehicles (OBV) that make up the silo-based GMD system in Ft. Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg.
Technology challenges for KEI include proving that the propulsion system is capable of providing the acceleration and speed needed to pursue a ballistic target in its boost phase. Also, honing the thrust-vector control techniques to precisely guide the interceptor is a challenge.
As part of his $1.4 billion cut to the MDA’s budget, Gates announced he plans to cap the number of interceptors at Ft. Greely at 26, down from the plan of 40 there. Four are now at Vandenberg, and both sites are postured to counter missiles launched from North Korea.
KEI also has been viewed as a replacement to the OBV if the technology proves to be mature.
Photo: DoD
