Interceptor shield

Nathan J Hunt: Interceptor Shield News Editor
Interview Two With Lieutenant General Henry A, Obering
June, 5th 2008

Q: General during your time as being the head of the the missile defense program, missile defense has taken shape and has emerged from a concept to a deployed system. In the years as being director what are some of the ways that you can say, have you helped inspire and bring missile defense forwards to what it is today?

Answer: It has been my privilege to work alongside some of the finest professionals, in a team effort, to make missile defense a reality. I’ve seen the successful testing of, not just program elements, but the entire ballistic missile defense system we’re developing. We are able to detect, track and intercept threats in different phases of flight, all while communicating information over multiple time zones in real time. I’ve seen some of those elements deployed and on patrol plus, we’re working even harder with the warfighter and allies to make missile
defense worldwide.

Q: At the time of our last interview, Japan was just getting involved with missile defense, Japan in December of 2007 conducted their first successful intercept of a ballistic missile with the Aegis ship JS Kongo, it also marked the first time an allied nation has taken an active part in a missile defense test. As we are helping the government of Japan in development and deployment of their missile defense system, how are they helping us expand and move forwards our system?

Answer: The December, 2007 test marked the first intercept attempt by an ally. Japan, Spain and the Netherlands have participated in previous tests, providing surveillance and tracking of targets, and passing the information to the American shooting ship.
The Japanese will conduct three more intercept tests, the next occurring later this year. Japan is one of our strongest missile defense allies and they are committed to the concept. This is evident in outfitting several of their ships and the acquisition of PAC-3 missiles. Additionally, they are proceeding
with the MDA in the development of the next iteration of the Standard Missile - 3 (SM-3). This will be a bigger and faster interceptor, designed to thwart even longer-range threats. Testing will occur early next decade.

Q: With the agreement of deployment of ground based interceptors in Europe just about finalized, once these systems are deployed how will they effect our missile defense ability and what advantages will they bring?

Answer: The reason we want to go to Europe is that we do not have defenses in the European theater against a long-range emerging threat from the Middle East. We have mobile shorter-range defenses, like the Patriot or the Standard Missile 3, that could be brought to bear, but we don’t have an effective defense against the longer-range weapons. We need to look at what’s happening today and project what may be the threat for the future. That’s very important in missile defense, because it takes time to build these capabilities. What we’re talking about is a silo-based interceptor field of up to 10 interceptors in Poland, with the first being in place, about the 2011 time frame, and finish that out in 2013. A radar that we currently have in the Marshall Islands will be relocated to the Czech Republic. We would obviously modify it and upgrade it as part of that move.

Q: The threat of ballistic missiles has expanded since the end of thecold war with more nations having ballistic missile systems or developing them, but another threat that also seems to be growing is from much smaller shorter range missiles as can be seen in the middle east. How is the Missile Defense Agency working to combat these emerging threats?

Answer: We are working with our allies in meeting threats in all ranges and phases of flight. We have the ongoing Israeli/American Arrow Program and we have a cooperative effort to address other threats. As has recently been mentioned, we are also deploying one of our forward-based radars to the region to assist our allies.

Q: The systems that are being deployed cost a considerable amount, how is the Missile Defense Agency working to ensure that the systems that are being deployed will be able to be expanded and maintained so they do not become obsolete a few years down the road?

Answer: In part that is why we are building a multi-layered system, that is not dependent upon just one element. They compliment one another and are linked together, over multiple time zones, to afford senior leadership the opportunity to determine the best course of action. We regularly interface with the warfighter in the development, testing and upgrading of our programs, to ensure their ongoing military utility.

Q: The successful shoot down of the failed satellite in February, 2008 was a major milestone for the Missile Defense Agency. In the weeks leading up to the shoot down the world was closely watching to see if it could be done, since it was going to be a hard shot to hit and some even said we would not be able to do it. How would you categorize this achievement and how has it effected the global political community.

Answer: The satellite shootdown was a great display of engineering and scientific expertise coming together, communicating effectively with foreign governments, and executing the destruction of an object which was a potential threat to multiple nations. It was also a validation of the processes we use in our missile defense tests to detect, track and intercept a potential threat.

Q: With most of the systems being deployed and tested like the sea based SM-3 system and land based GBI, PAC-3 and THAAD these systems have been tested and proven to work, the only system that has not yet been tested in an operational test against a threat test ballistic missile is the Airborne Laser that is nearing completion. What are the advantages of the Airborne Laser over the other systems and if it proves successful in operational testing would the Missile Defense Agency in the years to come put more effort into directed energy systems?

Answer: The Airborne Laser is revolutionary. The ability to detect and track a ballistic missile threat, shortly after its liftoff, then destroy it with directed energy is incredible. It’s like something right out of a Hollywood script. It also holds the potential for being an excellent addition to the missile defense architecture we’re building. Additionally, it is an exceedingly mobile asset, capable of being deployed wherever there is an airstrip.

In closing we at Interceptor Shield News would like to thank Lt, General Obering for taking the time to do this second interview with Interceptor Shield News even with his busy schedule.