CG(X) Air and Missile Defense
Assuring access will be the Navy's major contribution to execution of the National strategy in the 21st century. Noting the lessons of Desert Storm, adversaries will work to prevent the buildup of US force through access denial strategies. These strategies will include missile attacks on the infrastructure supporting US power projection (ports, airfields and communications networks), political targets, and of course direct assaults on US military forces.
CG(X) will maintain air superiority over the total force. Larger, faster, and longer-range missiles will allow CG(X) to counter state-of-the-art air threats hundreds of miles inland and to perform other missions well in the littoral. A generation of air defense radars is currently under development to counter low-radar cross section (RCS) threats at extended ranges; CG(X) will not only provide sustained air superiority, but will also detect, track and engage ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere.
Advanced Theater Ballistic Missiles (TBM), Overland Cruise Missiles (OCM), Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV), Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles (ASCM) and supporting surveillance and targeting systems pose a rising threat to the ability of US Naval forces to gain and sustain access. Therefore, development and deployment of effective Theater Air and Missile Defense (TAMD) capability is a crucial Navy capability in order to ensure that US forces are able to go "anywhere, anytime".
The concept of Sea Based Theater Air and Missile Defense (TAMD) is founded on emerging concepts related to Network Centric Operations (NCO). TAMD is based on enduring naval roles (forward presence, deterrence, crisis response, and projection of combat power) and on synergism that arises through the networking of complementary offensive and defensive capabilities. It builds combat power from the rapid networking of geographically dispersed warfighters, capitalizing upon significant improvements in weapons, sensor and information technologies to achieve non-linear increases in defensive capability.
The CG(X) cruiser will replace the Ticonderoga class AEGIS cruisers. The CG(X) will provide an "umbrella" of air and missile defense with longer -range missiles, protecting carrier strike groups and the other DD(X) vessels. It will also be able to track and engage ballistic missiles hundreds of miles inland. Currently the CG(X) is in the design phase. Like the DD(X), CG(X) will have many advanced features not found on present Navy vessels.
The CG(X) will able to launch larger, faster and longer-range missiles to counter inland air threats hundreds of miles away. These new missiles will also be able to perform other missions in littoral (near-shore) regions. A new generation of air defense radars will counter more elusive long-range, low-radar cross section threats. This will help provide sustained air superiority as well as detect, track and engage ballistic missiles beyond the atmosphere.
Northrop Grumman's Kinetic Energy Interceptor is similar to the PAC-3 and SM-3, in that it is a hit-to-kill system. While the PAC-3 and SM-3 are both about one foot in diameter and about 15 feet long; the KEI is four feet wide and 40 feet tall. Northrop Grumman plans to "cold launch" KEI from special KEI cells, intalled at an angle inside the CG(X) to reduces the hull depth and height requirements for the launching ship.
CG(X) will add capabilities for sea-based ballistic missile defense systems and higher power advanced sensors. Due to the need to provide high levels of power for sensors and weapons and target delivery, the CG(X) will require very highly capable electric power system.
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