Israel is developing parallel unmanned aerial sensors —an aerostat-mounted radar and a UAV-deployed infrared (IR) target discrimination system —to minimize the risk of cruise missiles and advanced nuclear tipped ballistic missiles leaking through its planned multilayered defenses. The former, a tethered balloon housing the Elta Systems EL/M-2083 phased array radar, will help target cruise missiles in future versions of David’s Sling, a hit-to-kill intercepting system initially designed to defend against short-range ballistic missiles and large-caliber rockets. Developed by prime contractor Rafael and its U.S. partner, Raytheon, with U.S. and Israeli government funding, the system’s Stunner missile is scheduled for its first intercept test in early 2011 and initial deployment at the end of 2012.
Designed to defeat threats ranging from 40 kilometers to 250 kilometers, David’s Sling is being considered by the U.S. Army to defend forward-based troops and strategic sites. In Israel, where the program is known as Magic Wand, David’s Sling eventually will replace U.S. Patriot batteries as the middle layer bridging the ultra short-range Iron Dome and the Arrow-2 and planned upper-tier Arrow-3 systems. Israeli defense and industry sources said the balloon-based sensor, planned for future Block 2 versions of the David’s Sling system, will house an EL/M-2083 phased array radar optimized for long-range detection of low-flying cruise missiles.
“Once the elevated sensor detects an incoming cruise missile, and the air control unit determines this is a valid target, the mission will be assigned to David’s Sling. Then the system will create an interception plan and determine the optimum plan for launching the Stunner interceptor,” an Israeli program official here said. “The added overhead sensors will help detect and cue the interceptor against cruise missiles very far away from the borders of Israel. It will give us many more valuable minutes to plan and manage our defense against incomings.” The program official noted that the planned unmanned radar will support the same Elta
ground-based multi mission radar planned for David’s Sling as well as Iron Dome. He declined to say when the Block-2 anti-cruise missile version of David’s Sling would be ready for initial deployment. “David’s Sling ultimately will be able to handle a full range of threats within the atmosphere, from long-range artillery rockets, tactical ballistic missiles not addressed by the lower- tier Arrow and eventually from cruise missiles,”said Yossi Drucker, head of Rafael’s active defense directorate.
Based on the latest in Rafael’s family of Python air-to-air missiles, the two-stage, highly maneuverable, supersonic Stunner operates in radar-guided or heat-seeking modes. “We’re confident this missile will be the fastest, most capable endo-atmospheric interceptor ever developed,” Drucker said. “It’s the only multimode EO [electro-optical] and RF [radar frequency] missile that operates at intercepting ranges large enough to deal with all threats within the atmosphere.” He said Rafael’s U.S. partner, Raytheon, is developing the Stunner’s first stage and will develop, produce and provide integrated logistics support for the missile-firing unit controlling David’s Sling launchers. Mike Booen, vice president of Advanced Security and Directed Energy Systems at Tucson, Ariz.-based Raytheon Missile Systems, said he expected the partnership with Rafael to pay “huge dividends for both Israeli and American forces.” He stressed that engineers from both companies are working side-by-side to develop the most capable and affordable ystem, and are driven by “the urgency of getting this weapon system quickly into the hands of the war fighters.”
Meanwhile, Israeli government and industry sources here said they still hope to secure U.S. approval for joint funding of the second new type of unmanned sensor designed to distinguish ballistic missile-delivered countermeasures and decoys from real incoming warheads. In April 2008, Defense News reported that Israel and Germany were co-developing a prototype, long-range IR sensor to be tested aboard a manned business jet platform. The six-year project — codenamed Blue Bird concluded late last year. Israeli sources said data from that cooperative and still highly sensitive was presented to the Pentagon’s MDA in attempts to secure U.S. funding to transition the prototype effort into an operational UAV-deployed system to support the jointly funded Arrow-3 UpperTier program. In bilateral meetings at various levels, Israeli officials have insisted the new capability is critical to Israel’s future national missile defense architecture, given Iran’s expanding arsenal of increasingly capable ballistic missiles and its unabated nuclear development drive.
But as of March 25, an MDA official said, “there is no U.S. commitment to co-develop” the proposed UAV target discrimination sensor. The Israel-proposed Airborne Early Warning Sensor (ABEWS) is a long-range, high-resolution IR detection sensor developed by Rafael and deployed on Israel’s newest, largest, long endurance Eitan, or Heron TP, built by Israel Aerospace Industries. The unmanned IR sensor would support existing Elta-developed Green Pine and Super Green Pine L-band fire control and tracking radars, as well as the U.S. AN/TPY-2 X-Band early warning radar now based in Israel’s Negev desert. In addition to the improved accuracy from a blend of IR and radar sensors, the proposed ABEWS would discriminate between actual, possibly nuclear-tipped warheads from the dozens of decoys and countermeasures that threaten to confound national missile defenses.
“We know the Israelis —in the context of their Upper Tier program —want additional sensors in the air, primarily for purposes of discrimination,” a Pentagon source said. “We also know they’ve been talking to folks up on Capital Hill about the multiyear plus-ups [congressional funding added to the Pentagon’s formal budget request] they’d need to support the effort. As of now, this remains an open issue, to be determined.”
Arieh Herzog, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, said the proposed ABEWS “is still on the table as part of annual U.S. funding for the so-called Arrow System Improvement Program.” Herzog said earlier this month that the unmanned ABEWS is planned for future Block 5 versions of the Arrow Weapon System, which will integrate the Upper Tier Arrow-3 and existing Arrow-2 interceptors into a single national missile defense system.
“We expect [ABEWS] to be operational with Block 5,” Herzog said. “A few years ago, many in MDA believed it was not a valid technical solution. But today, it is proven. There are no physical constraints, and now everybody’s convinced it will work. ... So at the end of the day, I believe it will become part of our program.”
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07-04-2010, 10:41
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