Sea-Based Missile Defense

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Sea-Based Missile Defense:
Navy Theater Wide, AEGIS and Sea-based Global Missile Defense

Sea-based missile defense is the most promising near term solution to the threat of ballistic missiles. Deployable in half the time and at one tenth the cost of the President's proposed land-based system, an upgrade of America's twenty-two AEGIS equipped cruisers and destroyers would form the frontline of a future layered missile defense system. This page presents the facts about sea-based missile defense including information on platforms, missiles, radar and procurement programs. This page also highlights the differences between the current Navy Theater Wide program, constrained by the 1972 ABM Treaty, and our proposed Sea-based Global Missile Defense, sometimes referred to as Navy Theater Wide "all-it-can-be," that is capable of both the NTW and homeland defense missions needed by America.

Sea-based Global Missile Defense

1.) Fundamentals of Sea-Based Global Missile Defense

2.) Components of Sea-based Global Missile Defense

3.) Procurement Programs

4.) International Viewpoints

5.) High Frontier Briefs and Articles on Sea-Based Global Defense

Navy Theater Wide versus Sea-based Global Missile Defense:
Fundamental Differences

Navy Theater Wide [NTW] is an ongoing program through the Navy and the BMDO whose goal is to build effective theater missile defenses by upgrading our AEGIS systems to defend our allies and our deployed forces against ballistic missiles. The sea-based global missile defense system [SbGMD] proposed by many groups including High Frontier and outlined to the left is intended as the first layer of a national missile defense capable of also meeting the theater missile defense mission of NTW. The difference between the two systems is based solely on the constraints placed on the United States by the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The Treaty prevents NTW from functioning as a homeland national missile defense. In order to deny NTW the capability of a National Missile Defense, the Navy has been forced to "dumb-down" components of the NTW system, specifically concerning the performance of the STANDARD missile, the use of remote sensors and radar, and the capabilities of ship-board battle management command and control systems.

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