One Shot, One Hit, One Kill

It looks like the first operational usage of our sea-based ballistic missile defense system went off perfectly, with an SM-3 launched from the USS Lake Erie impacting on its target - a spy satellite in a decaying orbit - last night.

A task force consisting of the USS Lake Erie (CG-70), USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Russell (DDG-59) was able to engage the satellite in rough seas, after receiving the launch order from SecDef Gates - testing the command and control networks, target racking and target engagement systems that would be used in the the event of, say, a North Korean missile launch.

It also demonstrated the potential for the use of the SM-3/Aegis system as the basis for a LEO satellite intercept system, although the target satellite was in a lower orbit than other potential targets would be and the SM-3 appears to have been operating at the edge of its engagement envelope. An effective ASAT system would have to be designed for engagements at much higher altitudes.

Here are a few details from the WPost;

In a statement announcing that the attack on the satellite, the Pentagon said, "Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours." It made no mention of early indications, but several defense officials close to the situation said later that all indications point to the destruction of the fuel tank. One explained that observers saw what appeared to be an explosion, indicating that the tank was hit.

Because the satellite was orbiting at a relatively low altitude at the time it was hit by the missile, debris will begin to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere immediately, the Pentagon statement said.

"Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days," it said.
[...]
The Lake Erie and two other Navy warships, as well as the SM-3 missile and other components, were modified in a hurry-up project headed by the Navy in January. The missile alone cost nearly $10 million, and officials estimated that the total cost of the project was at least $30 million.
[Jeff's note: These modifications were to the tracking and targeting software of the SM-3/Aegis systems, allowing them to track and engage an object with he target profile of the satellite. These systems are normally used to engage aircraft and missiles.]
[...]
The government organized hazardous materials teams, under the code name "Burnt Frost," to be flown to the site of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the United States or elsewhere.

Also, six federal response groups that are positioned across the country by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were alerted but had not been activated Wednesday, FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said before the missile launch. "These are purely precautionary and preparedness actions only," he said.

President Bush gave his approval last week to attempt the satellite shootdown on grounds that it was worth trying to destroy the toxic fuel on board the satellite before it could possibly land in a populated area.

The three-stage Navy missile, designated the SM-3, has chalked up a high rate of success in a series of tests since 2002, in each case targeting a short- or medium-range ballistic missile, never a satellite. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials said the changes would be reversed once this satellite was down...

The Russians and Chinese have expressed concerns about this action, with the Russians saying

"Speculations about the danger of the satellite hide preparations for the classical testing of an anti-satellite weapon...Such testing essentially means the creation of a new type of strategic weapons...The decision to destroy the American satellite does not look harmless as they try to claim, especially at a time when the US has been evading negotiations on the limitation of an arms race in outer space."

Coming from Russia, which has taken up saber rattling as a new hobby, this is pretty amusing. More to the point, while this action shows the potential for a sea-based, anti-satellite system, the SM-3/Aegis is not designed for such actions, nor was this engagement a good example of an intercept of a functional satellite (for an example of a true anti-satellite missile test, see last year's test by the ChiComs).

What this action does show is the usefulness of the SM-3/Aegis in its ABM role. That, in turn, should put our adversaries on notice that we are approaching a time when they will no longer be able to confidently use ballistic missiles as an effective threat against us and our allies. If I were in Pyongyang, I would not be happy with this action, since it is pretty close to the profile a Taepodong-2 launch at the United States.

It would also be nice if it quieted those critics of missile defense who predicate their opposition on such systems not being technically feasible. This operation has certainly shown that this technology does work outside of a testing environment.

(Sources: Washington Post, DoD Press Release, BBC, BBC)