Many have wondered about the effectiveness of the air defense system protecting the airspace
around Washington, D.C.
It turns out to be extremely good.
The U.S. military has successfully carried out the lowest ever intercept of a mock cruise
missile using the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, during a test earlier
this month.
Probably unknown to most Americans, NASAMS is the main surface to air missile system
in the National Capital Region.
It is part of a layer setup and is augmented by AN/TWQ-1 Avenger short-range air defense
systems which are deployed at important locations.
Viewers may note that U.S Air Force F-16C/D Viper fighter jets and Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin
helicopters are also available for a quick response.
The test took place on Sept. 3, 2020, and involved a NASAMS situated on Santa Rosa Island,
located off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.
As part of this test, a very low-flying unmanned BQM-167 Skeeter target drone was intercepted.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how the presence of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air
Missile System makes Washington, D.C one of the most well-protected capital in the world?
Let’s get into the details.
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NASAMS is built by Raytheon Corporation and Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace.
The Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace teamed up with Raytheon and initiated the
NASAMS program as a cooperative effort for the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
The network-centric air defense system NASAMS was declared fully operational capable in
1998 but had an initial operational capability as early as in 1994/95.
The Royal Norwegian Air Force together with Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace conducted
a mid-life update of NASAMS, called NASAMS 2, and the upgraded version was first handed
over to Royal Norwegian Air Force in mid-2006.
The major difference between the two versions is the use of Link 16 on NASAMS 2 as well
as a better ground radar.
Full operational capability (FOC) was reached in 2007.
A complete NASAMS II battery consists of 12 missile launchers (LCHR) (each one carrying
six AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles), eight radars (AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel F1 Improved Sentinel X
band 3D radar), one fire control center (CTOC), one electro-optical camera vehicle (MSP500)
and one Tactical Control Cell (TCC) vehicle.
The mobile launcher can be deployed and remotely controlled up to 25 km or around 15.5 miles
away from the fire control center.
Each launcher can fire the six AMRAAMs in seconds against six different targets enabling
multiple simultaneous engagements.
Since 12 launchers are present with 6 missiles each, the system can target up 72 targets
simultaneously.
The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is a 3D radar used to alert and queue Short Range Air Defense
(SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces.
It is an X-band range-gated, pulse-Doppler radar system.
The antenna uses phase-frequency electronic scanning technology, forming sharp 3D pencil
beams covering large surveillance and track volume.
The radar automatically acquires, tracks, classifies, identifies and reports targets,
including cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and both rotary- and fixed-wing
aircraft.
It uses a high scan rate (30 RPM) and operates at a range of 40 km (25 mi).
The radar is designed with high resistance to electronic countermeasures (ECM).
Mounted on a towed platform, it can be positioned remotely from the rest of the unit, operated
autonomously and communicate with the Fire Direction Center (FDC) via a wideband fiber-optic
link.
It can also distribute its data over a SINCGARS radio network.
The AMRAAM (AIM-120), was developed and is best known as an air-launched fire and forget
missile deployed on the F-16, F/A-18, F-22, Eurofighter, JAS-39 Gripen to name a few.
NASAMS II uses the AIM-120C7.
The AIM-120C-7 development began in 1998 and included improvements in homing and greater
range.
AIM-120C7 incorporates an upgraded antenna, receiver, signal processor, and new software
algorithms to counter new threats.
The use of smaller system components created room for future growth.
This test is the latest in a series validations being carried out.
It has actually been delayed due to Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura, which bashed
the region in August.
The U.S. Air Force's 780th Test Squadron, based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and
led the test as part of a program called Vermilion Stallion.
BQM-167 Skeeter used for this test is a proven system.
The Composite Engineering BQM-167 Skeeter is a subscale aerial target drone developed
and manufactured by Composite Engineering Inc. which had been acquired by Kratos Defense
& Security Solutions.
It is developed from grounds up to provide a realistic target for weapons testing.
BQM-167 Skeeter has a length of 20 feet and can fly at a maximum speed of 0.91 Mach.
U.S Air Force press release stated, "This live-fire made history as the lowest altitude
surrogate cruise missile ever impacted with the system.
The successful execution enabled the verification, validation, and re-characterization of the
nation’s air defense system’s many upgrades."
This airspace around Washington, D.C is among the most heavily restricted and monitored
in the world and its protection is taken very seriously.
This test assumes special significance when we take into consideration some recent events.
In January 2018 Russian forces faced a drone swarm launched against Khmeimim Air Base,
in Syria.
The Russian were able to neutralize most of these.
Though the attack was not able to inflict major damage, it indicated that the threat
of the low flying weapon is real.
A relatively recent example is the attack on Saudi Arabia.
On September 14, 2019, facilities of Saudi Arabia's oil company Aramco located in the
east of the country came under attack.
As per reports, 18 drones and 7 missiles were used for the coordinated attack.
The damage was significant & this caused a spike in global oil prices.
Unlike earlier times when ballistic missiles were the only concern, now with the proliferation
of low flying drones as well as cruise missiles, things have become more complex.
Hence, the successful interception of the mock cruise missile flying at very low altitude
by NASAMS is an important step as it will add a lot of confidence.