The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is the

anti-ballistic missile An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear weapon, nuclear, Chemical weapon, chemical, Bioagent, biological, or conventiona ...

component of the United States'

Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the United States' anti-ballistic missile system for intercepting incoming warheads in space, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile de ...

(GMD) system.

Description

This interceptor is made up of a

boost vehicle A booster rocket (or engine) is either the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle, or else a shorter-burning rocket used in parallel with longer-burning sustainer rockets to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability ...

, constructed by

Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...

, and an

Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) is the Raytheon-manufactured interceptor component with subcontractor Aerojet of the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), part of the larger National Missile Defense system. The EKV is boosted to an ...

(EKV), built by

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

. Integration of these is performed by

Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division (business unit) of The Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia. It is responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. It was formerly known as Boeing Integrated Defense System ...

. The three-stage Orbital Boost Vehicle (OBV)Orbital Sciences Ground-based interceptor (GBI
(2002) Orbital Boost Vehicle
OBV) uses the

solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persian ...

upper stages of the

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...

launcher. The interceptor version deployed in the U.S. has three stages. A two-stage version was successfully tested in 2010 for use in Europe's NATO missile defence as a backup option to the preferred Aegis System

Standard Missile 3 The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a ship-based Surface-to-air missile, surface-to-air missile system used by the United States Navy to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ...

. A total of 64 interceptors are planned: 30 interceptors were deployed at the end of 2010 at

Fort Greely Fort Greely is a United States Army launch site for anti-ballistic missiles located about southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. It is also the home of the Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC), as Fort Greely is one of the coldest areas in Alaska, and can ...

, Alaska and

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...

in California, with 14 additional missiles deployed by 2017, and 20 more GBIs planned. Since 2006, the Missile Defense Agency conducted seven intercept tests with the operationally configured missile, the most recent four of which were successful.MD
TestingTest Program pdf
note URL–https://mda.mil/global/documents/pdf/testrecord.pdf is a 404

/ref>Staff Sgt. Zachary Sheely (April 5, 2019) National Guard Soldiers at forefront of most significant test in missile defense history
/ref> The FY2021 NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which was released 3 December 2020) has mandated that the Missile Defense Agency commence development of 20 interim GBIs.Jen Judso
(3 December 2020) Congress directs DoD to build interim homeland missile defense interceptor
/ref> The interim GBIs are to meet the requirements for the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV —canceled 21 August 2019), at minimum: *Vehicle-to-vehicle communications *Ability to assess kills, and counter counter-measures *Producible *Use mature technology, with the ability to integrate with non-GBIs (see below) The interim GBIs are to be completely fielded by 2026, according to the FY2021 NDAA. On 1 August 2022, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to upgrade the GMD Weapon System (GWS) to modernize code for the Ground-based interceptors (GBIs) hardware (by 2026),Jen Judso
(23 Jul 2022) Cost tripled for missile defense warhead, despite prior warnings, GAO finds
"The Senate Armed Services Committee, in its version fthe fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, wants 20 interim interceptors fielded by 2026".Jen Judson
(1 Aug 2022) Northrop wins $3 billion contract to manage US homeland missile defense systems
/ref> as their successor Next generation interceptors (NGIs) are made available (on or before 2026). The software upgrades allow the GBIs new capabilities to complement the NGIs.Naval News Staf
(1 Nov 2022) Hypersonic Missiles: Evolution Or Revolution?
summary overviewAndrew Eversde
(1 Aug 2022) Northrop Grumman wins $3.3 billion homeland ballistic missile defense contract
/ref> On 31 August 2022, the MDA awarded Boeing a GMD contract for attendant system integration, test and readiness (SITR) work.ANDREW EVERSDEN
(31 Aug 2022) Boeing wins $5 billion contract for ballistic missile defense integration
Award is for $506.7 million up to 2027

Next generation interceptor (NGI)

The

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which w ...

(MDA) leads the development of

s for America. The Next Generation Interceptor (NGI)Association of the United States Army (AUSA) (12 Mar 2020) Army SMD Hot Topic 2020 - VADM Jon Hill - Dir, Missile Defense Agency
/ref> is a MDA program to upgrade the kill vehicles for the ground-based interceptors, with different vendors,

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

and

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

competing. Jen Judson (23 Mar 2021) Here’s who will compete head-to-head to build the next homeland missile defense interceptor
/ref> They are tasked with meeting more complex threats than those met by the EKV. There will be more near-term technology improvement to the GBI during a longer-term process for NGI to meet more complex threats.Paul McCleary (24 Mar 2021) Big New Interceptor Deal Part Of Biden Missile Defense Push
/ref> The NGIs are to be fielded by 2027 or 2028. The Pentagon's Office of Cost and Program Evaluation (CAPE) estimated on April 29, 2021, that it would cost $17.7 billion to develop, deploy, and maintain the next-generation interceptor (NGI). This includes billions to build a total of 21 NGIs, each with a price tag of at least $74 million, and maybe more, depending on the exact allocation of funding for the program. As part of the first phase, the Missile Defense Agency allocated $7.6 billion in contract money to Northrop Grumman (in partnership with Raytheon) and Lockheed Martin to upgrade aging ground-based interceptors (GBIs).Sebastien Roblin (29 April 2021) Pentagon May Spend $17.7 Billion To Deploy Just 21 Nuke-Killing Missiles
/ref> On 12 September 2021 a test of the GBI, which is designed to use a three-stage booster, successfully met its goal of operating as a two-stage booster for an EKV.Aaron Mehta (12 Sep 2021) US Successfully Tests New Homeland Missile Defense Capability
MDA's "2-/3-Stage selectable GBI"Jen Judson (23 Jul 2020) Cost tripled for missile defense warhead, despite prior warnings, GAO finds
/ref> The tracking sensors and computers (whether they be

C2BMC Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), ...

, or IBCS, etc.), which follow the parabolic trajectories of the ballistic missile, count down the ''time to go'' needed before impact of the interceptor's kill vehicle with the targeted ballistic missile. When the tracking sensors and computers determine there is enough time to kill the ballistic missile without using the third booster stage, the kill vehicle can maneuver using its thrusters to hit the targeted ballistic missile without the third stage. This increases the probability of kill, for the kill vehicle, which can instead more closely follow the targeted missile, rather than its projected parabolic trajectory. As described, the NGI is being engineered to handle more complex situations to be able to hit maneuverable targets.

Notes

References

External links

Missile Defense Agency Booster Rocket ProgramGround-based Interceptor , Missilethreat.csis.org
{{US missiles, state=collapsed Anti-ballistic missiles of the United States Military in Alaska Solid-fuel rockets Military equipment introduced in the 2000s