By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The Patriot missile may have exploded into the combat sphere as a SCUD-killing interceptor in the Gulf War more than 30-years ago, yet the weapon has catapulted into modern warfare through decades of upgrades, adaptations and performance enhancements. What first captured global attention during Desert Storm as a ballistic missile “interceptor” tracking a “detectable” missile trajectory, is now a weapon which can network with multiple platforms across multiple domains, destroy Russian fighter jet aircraft in Ukraine and also track and destroy several “maneuvering” cruise missiles simultaneously using paradigm-changing radar, networking and fire control. In what could be seen as somewhat of a departure from the original concept of operation informing development of the Patriot, the weapon can now not only track incoming ballistic missiles following an expected or standard parabola-like trajectory …but it can now destroy fighter jets and two maneuvering cruise missiles at one time.
Now, in yet another paradigm-changing development, the Patriot missile has successfully been engineered to launch from the deck of a US Navy warship. This is quite significant, as it enables new tactics and concepts of information for a weapons system which has primarily been ground based. In a recent live-fire simulation virtual test, Lockheed Martin fired a PAC-3 MSE interceptor from a MK-70 containerized launch platform to engage a cruise missile target in flight. The Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement is an upgraded system engineered with software designed to improve range, accuracy and targeting guidance. The Patriot first succeeded tracking and intercepting maneuvering cruise missiles on the ground within just the last few years, and is now expanding into a maritime warfare environment.
This was accomplished through the advanced integration of Patriot missile radar and fire control with ship-based Aegis Combat Systems. While taking place in a virtualized environment, the simulation is likely welcome news for weapons developers as it helps establish the interfaces, computing and technical infrastructure necessary to connect a Patriot with Aegis. This means the high-resolution, highly sensitive Aegis radar, now operating at a higher power density with greater fidelity and range, can help find and “light up” targets for a ship-deck fired Patriot to intercept.
Warrior visits Lockheed Martin F-35 Production Facility
Ship-based Aegis radar is already being developed to integrate with ground-based missile defense networks such as the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System, and now it can add a kinetic solution to the networking by adding a deck-fired Patriot missile. As a critical part of IBCS, the Patriot missile can network with ground-based Sentinel radar and command and control systems to share target specifics across a series of multi-domain meshed “nodes” in position to destroy targets. Alongside its land-based connectivity, IBCS has also shown it can network with aerial air-defense sensor nodes such as an F-35, so adding a ship-based maritime system such as Aegis only further expands the multi-domain reach of the system. A Lockheed Martin essay on the test quotes Tom Copeman, Vice President of Naval Programs at Lockheed Martin explaining that the Aegis-Patriot intercept breaks ship defense through with an ability to defend against “advanced, maneuverable targets.”
Indeed the Patriot does bring a unique defense capability to layered ship defenses, given its ability to track and destroy maneuvering cruise missiles. This means a Patriot could potentially have success against anti-ship missiles traveling at lower altitudes closer to the surface of the ocean. This offers a needed defensive solution for warships, as existing SM-2, SM-3 & SM-6 interceptor missiles are primarily oriented toward ballistic missile defenses at various ranges. Navy ships do have the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Block II, a ship-launched interceptor capable of operating in “sea-skimming” mode closer to the surface, so an ability to add the Patriot missile interceptor to these kinds of tactical circumstances brings new value to modern ship defense.
Kris Osborn President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
