Non-U.S. radar integrated into live-fire BMD kill chain in a landmark demo

摘要

In a landmark achievement for cooperative engagement, a Dutch frigate participating in a multinational missile defense demonstration in the North Atlantic detected a medium-range ballistic missile target and passed the cueing information to a U.S. destroyer, which then calculated an intercept solution and launched a guided-missile to successfully stop the target - the first-ever integration of a non-U.S. sensor into the ballistic missile defense kill chain. In late May, during At-Sea-Demonstration/Formidable Shield 21, the Royal Netherlands Navy's HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F802) used its advanced combat systems suite to detect a target launched from the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence Hebrides Test Range and then relay an early warning ballistic track to a maritime task group that consisted of more than a dozen ships from 10 countries spread across hundreds of miles. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), an event participant, was able to grab the information provided by the Dutch warship, generate a firing solution and launch a Standard Missile-3 Block IA interceptor which reached beyond the atmosphere to destroy the target in space.