Book Description

This unique book reviews man-portable air defense system missile and countermeasure capabilities, weapon proliferation trends, and the impact on global mobility operations through 2025. Man-portable air defense systems are threatening places of the world where mobility operations occur daily and the U.S has spent billions of dollars trying to counter their effects to little avail. The continued ability to project and apply joint U.S. military power is jeopardized without suitable defensive systems for military and civilian mobility aircraft. Breakthroughs in laser and microwave weapon technologies are described and represent the best opportunity for transformational progress against these missile threats. Developing these technologies will ensure the U.S. has the capabilities to defeat the projected threats using a mix of ground-based and aircraft-based defensive systems to smartly defend all U.S. and coalition transport and tanker aircraft. This paper recommends changes to strategy, technology development, and doctrine to meet this force protection and projection challenge. CHAPTER I * INTRODUCTION * CHAPTER II * THE THREAT TO THE GLOBAL MOBILITY SYSTEM * Global Mobility System * Global Mobility Concept of Operations * Who is Responsible to Defend Against These Threats? * Who Has These Weapons? * Strategic and Operational Implications * Summary and Recommendations * CHAPTER III * MANPADS MISSILE AND COUNTERMEASURES TECHNOLOGIES * MANPADS at Work: Mechanics of the Kill * Missile Components: Present and Future * Current Countermeasure Technology Program and Investments * Mid-Term Countermeasure Technologies-MEDUSA * Future Programs: Hard-Kill Lasers * Radio Frequency Weapons * Summary and Recommendations * CHAPTER IV * TWO STRATEGIES TO DEFEAT MANPADS THREATS * Aircraft-Based Countermeasures System * Ground-Based Countermeasures System * Summary and Recommendations * CHAPTER V * CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS * APPENDIX A * LIST OF NATIONS WITH MANPADS Man-portable air defense system threats are not a Middle-East phenomenon; mobility aircraft face increasing surface-to-air threats in all regions of the world. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that there have been 29 instances in which civilian transport planes crashed after being hit by shoulder-fired missiles, causing up to 550 deaths. These include attacks on transports in Columbia, Angola, Congo, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, and Kosovo. Jane's Intelligence Review reported seven military transports were downed and another one struck by non-state use of man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) missiles from 1996 to 2001. The nature of the threat environment mobility assets face can be broadly categorized into three levels. The first includes the use of small to medium-caliber automatic weapons, up to 14.5-millimeter heavy machine guns, and infrared (IR) guided man-portable air defense systems. This level is characterized by the use of enemy-controlled agents, sympathizers, and terrorists. The next threat level includes more advanced, short to medium-range radar-guided anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. These systems are associated with regular combat units and more traditional nation-states. The final threat level, consisting of a sophisticated enemy air defense system with integrated high performance surface-to-air missiles and air interceptors, represents a major theater war scenario with a near-peer competitor. Currently only a few nation-states could present this most advanced level of threat.