MDA eyes non-kinetic tech to help deal with threats in 2030s and beyond

摘要

The Pentagon is eyeing a next-generation Ballistic Missile Defense System that adds directed-energy weapons to its arsenal, including a potential high-powered airborne laser to defeat long-range adversary rockets during the boost phase of flight, according to a senior military official. In the next decade and beyond, Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill predicted the $200 billion system of integrated sensors, command and control tools and effectors that collectively make up the Ballistic Missile Defense System the Pentagon is fielding will be fundamentally altered."I think it will look different," Hill said June 22 at a virtual event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was asked to opine about where the agency is headed, specifically whether MDA has any corollary plans akin to the military departments' visions for adopting new technology in a way that alters how they fight. "The future will be a mix of kinetic and non-kinetic, it will be a mix of hard and soft kill because of where the threat is going," Hill said. "The threat will drive us to do something different." Hill said large guided missiles cannot be the solution to every threat. The newest Aegis interceptor carries a price tag of $36 million, excluding development costs. The Next Generation Interceptor, the newest planned addition to the inventory, is estimated to cost nearly $500 million per guided missile.