The Hardware Behind Missile Protection

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BOOST PHASE | 3 to 5 minutes

1. Airborne Laser

The Missile Defense Agency is outfitting a Boeing 747-400F with infrared sensors and a high-energy laser in the nose that destroys missiles within the first minutes of a launch. The first test against a flying target is planned for 2009.

2. Kinetic Energy Interceptor

The KEI fills the Pentagon’s need to field a land-based mobile interception system. A launcher on a vehicle will fire a 36-ft-long missile that is fast enough to destroy an ascending ballistic threat. Flight tests start in 2009 and end in 2011.

MID-COURSE PHASE | Up to 20 minutes

3. Aegis Ballistic Defense

During the early and late segments of its midcourse flight, a missile will be in range of four-stage, GPS-guided interceptors launched from Navy ships. The ships’ radars can also track ICBMs to guide ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California.

4. Ground-Based Interceptor

GBIs are the only operational defense system that can destroy an intercontinental ballistic missile in the midcourse phase. When the three-stage GBI escapes the atmosphere, it releases a small spacecraft that tracks and then slams into an incoming warhead.

TERMINAL PHASE | 30 seconds to 1 minute

5. Patriot Advanced Capability-3

Earlier versions of the Patriot system were used to destroy aircraft, but upgrades are designed to handle ballistic missiles. The PAC-3 system is deployed at U.S. bases and guards allied nations. Its missiles identify targets with radar but have a range of only 124 miles.

6. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense

The THAAD system will be the next-generation complement to the PAC-3. It will be a farther-reaching defense against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. An X-band radar will ensure the accuracy of THAAD’s 18-ft missiles.

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