WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 28, 2004) - The United States will have the capability to defend itself against a limited attack by long-range ballistic missiles when the missile defense system becomes operational later this year.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command agency has built, tested and verified an initial defense operations capability, said Thomas M. Devanney, deputy program director for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Agency. SMDC is prepared to put it on alert while continuing testing and development on the in-place hardware and software.

The missile defense system is a collection of ground and sea-based radars, communication systems designed to detect, track and destroy an enemy warhead before it can reach the United States.

SMDC has been working on fielding a response to threats since the president declared the intent to have the capability to defend the country against ballistic missiles less than two years ago, said Devanney at the AUSA Annual meeting.

"Since the 30th of September, we've been going through a series of transition exercises with the warfighter," said Devanney. Participants have gone through the checklists and procedures and the system has been close to becoming armed a number of times. The only thing they didn't do was mechanically arm the interceptors.

Fort Greely, Alaska, has five ground-based interceptors emplaced and is set to receive the sixth during the first week of November, said Devanney. Plans to place an additional 20 interceptors within the next few years are underway. Allen Army Airfield has been upgraded so interceptors can be flown directly to the site.

Army National Guard Soldiers are now manning the fire control stations at Fort Greely and Colorado Springs, Devanney said. Either station can operate the system.

Ground-based midcourse defense is the centerpiece of the operation, said Devanney. It has one of the largest fire control loops ever built with 20,000 miles of fiber optic cable and nine satellite communications links.

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is coming online before the end of the calendar year with four more silos and an in-flight communication system.

At Beale Air Force Base, Calif., all the computing hardware inside the radar has been replaced, Devanney said. All the hardware is in place and it was tracking satellites within days. It is going through final testing and will be online by the end of December.

By the end of 2005, the largest X-band radar for target tracking and identification ever built will be completed. Built on a floating platform, the structure has four pontoons each the size of a fleet ballistic missile submarine. The structure is 14 stories tall and the radar is 110 feet tall.

The defense system now has the infrastructure and testing simulations to provide confidence, said Devanney. SMDC is now focused on sustaining and upgrading the system.