ARPA Studies Satellite-Borne Anti-ICBM Defense System
Aviation Week, October 31, 1960
Washington -- Advanced Research Projects Agency is considering the implementation of an extensive satellite-borne anti-ICBM defense system. Indications are that if the decision is made to go ahead with the plan, requests for proposals may be issued by the Air Force's Ballistic Missile Division for industry-wide competition soon, probably before the end of the year.
Boeing, Convair, Lockheed and Thompson Ramo Wooldridge have conducted feasibility studies for such anti-ICBM systems over the past year or more and are expected to be among the principal contenders.
In anticipation of the need for such a system, ARPA has been funding several studies of similar, but competitive anti-ICBM systems. These include the Random Barrage System (RBS), a program which would employ a multitude of armed satellites placed in random orbits for the purpose of destroying enemy ICBMs before burn-out.
Now being studied in a follow-up phase at Thompson Ramo Wooldridge for Advanced Research Projects Agency and Ballistic Missile Division, Random Barrage System is competitive with Convair's Project SPAD (Satellite Protection for Area Defense), another ARPA-supported program. Both SPAD and RBS, previously referred to as a modified SPAD program (AW Sept. 19, p. 23), would employ armed satellites capable of detecting, tracking and ultimately destroying hostile ICBMs. Original Convair SPAD program envisioned use of polar orbiting satellites (AW Jan. 4, p. 18) was modified so that it too will use satellites in random orbits. ARPA is supporting studies on both programs for about $3 million a year each. This includes BMD contracts to study the effectiveness of guidance techniques for their respective programs. ARPA is also financing an anti-ICBM system feasibility study at Lockheed for roughly $3 million. Money for these studies is drawn from the $115 million a year budget of Project Defender.
While initially identified with the Convair program, the term SPAD has come to be a generic description of any anti-ICBM system employing orbiting earth satellites.
The name BAMBI, for ballistic missile boost intercept, also has been used to cover a number of anti-ICBM studies. USAF has assigned the designation Space Combat Weapon System 649E to the system that would grow out of these studies.
Still another program, this one entirely company-funded, has been under study for several years at Boeing Airplane Co. Thompson Ramo Wooldridge assisted the Boeing effort in its early stages and, more recently, systems analysis were provided by Electronic Specialty Co. Burroughs Corp. has been conducting reliability studies for Convair's Project SPAD over the past year.
Cost of either the Thompson Ramo Wooldridge RBS program or Project SPAD, should one of them be adopted as the nation's ICBM defense system, would be $15 billion, confidential sources here indicate. Neither system is expected to be foolproof, that is, capable of destroying every enemy ICBM launched. But both systems, like any effective aircraft defense system in its sphere, should make an ICBM attack against this country extremely costly and difficult.
The Random Barrage System studies were originally conducted at the Ramo-Wooldridge Division of Thompson Ramo Wooldridge but were switched to TRW's Space Technology Laboratories after the latter took over the military systems workload from TRW's Ramo-Wooldridge Division earlier this year. The RBS approach would employ a greater quantity of satellites than would the Convair SPAD program, although the total number of anti-ICBM missiles employed in the satellites of either system would be roughly the same. For example, each RBS satellite might carry one counter-weapon, while a SPAD vehicle might have six, but the RBS would require approximately six times as many satellites.
An important political question complicates the decision which must be made about ICBM defense. Public reaction abroad may be unfavorable to placing an armed satellite system in space despite assurances of its defensive intentions. It may be difficult to convince others that RBS, SPAD or any other armed anti-ICBM satellite defense system would include a built-in capability of being rendered harmless on re-entry in the event of a malfunction in the satellite.
A proposal for another SPAD-type system which could extend the time allowed for kill while the missile is still in its launch phase is being readied for submission to ARPA by Electro-Optical Systems, Inc. This approach is based on a novel detection device which would enable the satellite to spot a missile launch sooner and thus allow more time for a kill during launch. The system appears feasible against IRBMs as well as ICBMs.
Minuteman IV and Other ICBM Subsystem Programs From GlobalSecurity.org
Russian-American Observation Satellite (RAMOS)
Sea-based Anti-Ballastic Missile Intercept System (SABMIS)