Patriot / F15 Testing to begin

DoD Studies Patriot Missiles on F-15s
InsideDefense.com NewsStand | Ashley Roque | January 04, 2007
The Missile Defense Agency will soon award Lockheed Martin a $3 million contract to study the feasibility of equipping F-15C fighters with Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles to counter cruise missiles and intercept ballistic missiles in their boost phase, according to agency and company officials.

The Air Launched Hit-to-Kill initiative is focused on a “refined design” of an F-15C’s external weapons bay with the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement integration and performance estimate, an MDA official wrote in a Dec. 21 e-mail to Inside the Army.

MDA is expected to award Lockheed the money in the “next few days” for risk reduction and concept definition, according to the agency official.

Mike Trotsky, Lockheed Martin vice president of Air and Missile Defense programs, told ITA Dec. 6 that equipping a fighter with the missile capability would be beneficial for two reasons -- it could defeat cruise missiles and intercept ballistic missiles in their boost phase.

“If a Scud was launched from a barge or if a cruise missile was launched outside territorial waters attacking the United States, obviously if you had an F-15 up and it had a PAC-3 on it you could do long-range cruise missile defense or [tactical ballistic missile] defense,” Trotsky explained.

He said there are two feasible concepts for employing the weapon.

First, fighters equipped with PAC-3 missiles could be assigned to fly routine Civil Air Patrol. In the second scenario, the Defense Department could “scramble” PAC-3 equipped fighters as needed, Trotsky explained.

Lockheed calls the PAC-3 MSE, the baseline missile for the Medium Extended Air Defense System, a more powerful version of its hit-to-kill missile now in production.

“The MSE uses a more powerful rocket motor and larger fins for increased maneuverability against faster, more sophisticated ballistic and cruise missiles targets,” Jennifer Allen, a company spokeswoman, told ITA in July. “With an extended reach of up to 50 percent with MSE, MEADS would gain even more capability to protect ground forces and vital assets.”

Next year, MSE will fly during a control test without a target and two flight tests with targets. Following testing, the Army is expected to make a production decision, Trotsky said earlier this month.

The Navy has also studied the feasibility of fighter aircraft equipped with PAC-3 missiles, as InsideDefense.com reported in May 2005.

In addition to MDA’s funding of the Air Launched Hit-to-Kill effort, the agency has advanced a $2 million proposal for Lockheed Martin to build an Infrared Search and Tracking System (IRSTS), which would be used with the Air Launched Hit-to-Kill technology, an MDA official said. The agency has requested the funding via the director of defense research and engineering’s Quick Reaction Special Projects program. A decision on this initiative is expected late next month, MDA said.

The IRSTS would have utility for both the Air Launched Hit-to-Kill effort as well as another initiative known as the Net Centric Airborne Defense Element, the MDA official said.

“Unfortunately, the IRSTS will arrive too late to support the first proposed Net Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCADE) flight test later this year,” the MDA official wrote. “NCADE, another air-launched concept under contract with Raytheon, utilizes major components from existing air-to-air missiles. The initial NCADE flight test will likely take place this summer on the White Sands Missile Range, with the objective of verifying the NCADE seeker’s capability of differentiating plume from hard body in a boost-phase intercept.”

Additionally, the official said the NCADE flight test will be supported by the Air Force Seek Eagle office, and either the Air National Guard/Air Force Reserve Test Center in Tucson, AZ, or the 46 Test Group at Holloman Air Force base, NM.

Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion.

The Air Launched Hit-to-Kill initiative is focused on a “refined design” of an F-15C’s external weapons bay with the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement integration and performance estimate, an MDA official wrote in a Dec. 21 e-mail to Inside the Army.

This got me confused. Isn't the weapons bay INTERNAL by definition?

Anyway, what is the estimated rage of an air-launched PAC-3?
Does it fit in the same class as the Phoenix (aprox. 160km/100miles)?

No, the F15 is external stores, no internal (except cannon), I have no idea of range limitations...sounds a bit interesting though but I see your point about the basic definition of the word though

We tried this 20 years ago with the F-15 and a different missile with mixed results.The program was canceled, I think it's a waste of time, money, and manpower for the current threat. Just my two cents.

Purplehaze wrote:We tried this 20 years ago with the F-15 and a different missile with mixed results.The program was canceled, I think it's a waste of time, money, and manpower for the current threat. Just my two cents.

No... we didn't try this. You're talking about the F-15 ASAT program which was a missile desinged to shoot down satellites in low Earth orbit. That's completely different than shooting down cruise missiles in their boost phase, wouldn't ya say?

Raptor One....you are correct about the program you are describing, a good buddy of mine was the USAF Team Chief (worked the USAF support issues) on that project (Chief Pennoyor, but I have not seen him now in years) now a civilian, but the program you mentioned is spot on and it worked great (good memory you got there),

I got a few great shots (photos given to me by him) of F15's almost vertical launching that very missile...cool stuff at the time and ahead of itself in my book.

They worked out of Los Angeles AFB station with Vandenburg AFB crews and tracking.

I had to do a report for a college history course on science, technology, and society: 1940-present that, for whatever reason, allowed me and my report group to focus on space-based technology related to the Cold War. I think that's what the general report topic was. Anyway... my part of the report was the F-15 ASAT program. I believe it was an oral report, so that may account for my memory of the program being better than normal. Hehe...

I remember hearing about that program from an old major. He said they scrapped it, but couldn't remember if it was because of funding or something else.

Elbows wrote:I remember hearing about that program from an old major. He said they scrapped it, but couldn't remember if it was because of funding or something else.

I believe it was cancelled due to the one of the SALT treaties (I think SALT II) which banned anti-satellite weapons. See... I actually did do a report on this for college. Hehehe.

Thanks for clearing that up

thats kick a$$ baby

It must have been fun being able to say, "Splash one satellite! Woohooo!!!" I think there was at least one successful downing of a test satellite of some sort. I forget if they just shot down some old satellite that had outlived its usefulness or what.

RoAF..that is exactly the photo I was talking about, good man...you found it - outstanding, hell'va thing.... amazing

I wonder what the "Fox" call on an ASAT launch was?

Anyway, totally awesome! I've had a copy of that pic for a long time. Love it! Yeah, unfortunately the cost and the treaty combined to kill the program, but certain elements of the program were taken, and are being used in existing projects.

Here's the bio on the only AA satellite killer in history:

http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6714

As for a Patriot on the Eagle? Hmm...it would be a little akward, but a little reconfiguring, and who knows? Then again, this might be one of those "bright ideas" the "5-Sided Puzzle Palace" comes up with from time to time that eventually goes nowhere...kinda like the ASAT.