The Royal Australian Navy's Landing Helicopter Docks: a missile carrier concept

摘要

This paper examines the feasibility of launching Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) interceptors from the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) flight decks. Repurposing the LHDs as a kind of 'Missile Carrier' would exploit the ships flexible space, and the road-mobile architecture of THAAD. Advantages include: enhanced protection for deployed Australian forces; unlimited magazine depth and a common tri-service theatre BMD capability. Challenges include: space and weight restrictions of the LHDs elevators; hazards caused by electromagnetic radiation and missile back-blast plus the potential instability of THAAD launchers in strong crosswinds or high sea states. This paper concludes that, with the right investments, it appears technically possible to use the LHDs as mobile THAAD launch platforms. Areas not within the scope of this paper provide fertile ground for future research into the political, diplomatic and budgetary dimensions of a THAAD missile carrier concept.