GBI Capability Enhancement (CE)-I
As of May 2014, the Department of Defense (DOD) had deployed 30 GMD interceptors and it planned to deploy 14 more by the end of fiscal year 2017. The GMD program had completed fielding 23 of the original GBI missiles with the Capability Enhancement I (CE-I) version of the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV).
On 5 July 2013, the Missile Defense Agency, the US Air Force's 30th Space Wing, the Joint Functional Component Command, Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC IMD), and US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) conducted an integrated exercise and flight test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) of the initial fielded version of the GMD interceptor, called CE-I, of the United State's Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although a primary objective was the intercept of a long-range ballistic missile target launched from the US Army's Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, an intercept was not achieved. The interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Program officials were to conduct an extensive review to determine the cause or causes of any anomalies that might have prevented a successful intercept.
The July 2013 failure subsequently delayed FTG-06b to the third quarter of fiscal year 2014. 5MDA initially planned to conduct FTG-06b in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 but the test was delayed to the second quarter of fiscal year 2014 because of challenges developing the FTG-06a mitigation. The July 2013 CE-I test has further delayed FTG-06b to third quarter of fiscal year 2014 in order to implement corrective actions based on an ongoing failure review of the CE-I test.
The Missile Defense Agency made progress on Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) return-to-intercept during FY12. It redesigned and tested Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) components and established more stringent component and manufacturing process requirements. Analysis and ground test results indicated the previous mission failure root causes had been identified and fixed, but a demonstration flight test was required to validate that conclusion. The MDA scheduled a 2-flight test series designed to validate these fixes. The GMD Control Test Vehicle-01 (GM CTV-01) had been scheduled for second quarter FY13 as an interceptor-only diagnostic flight test to further characterize kill vehicle behavior in a representative flight environment. The Flight Test GMD-06b (FTG-06b) had been scheduled for third quarter FY13 as a repeat of the FTG-06a flight test.
The test windows represented the latest in a series of incremental slips over FY12. At the beginning of FY12, GM CTV-01 was scheduled to be flown in the middle of third quarter FY12 and FTG-06b was scheduled for the middle of fourth quarter FY12. Major causes of the slips were additional analysis time needed by the Failure Review Board, developmental issues with new inertial measurement unit firmware and isolation cradle hardware, and component manufacturing and quality concerns.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully completed a flight test of a three-stage Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 2 p.m. (PST) January 26, 2013. A target missile launch was not planned for this flight test. After performing fly out maneuvers, the three-stage booster deployed the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle to a designated point in space. Data from this flight test will be used to evaluate the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle system performance in a flight environment. If a target missile were present, the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle would collide directly with the threat warhead to perform a hit-to-kill intercept. Engineering data from this test will be used to improve confidence for future intercept missions.After separating from the booster, the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle executed a variety of pre-planned maneuvers to collect performance data in space. Initial indications are that all components performed as designed. Program officials will assess and evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test. This event, designated Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Control Test Vehicle (GM CTV)-01, was part of an extensive test series initiated after the Flight Test Ground-Based Interceptor (FTG)-06a failure in December 2010. The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle flown during GM CTV-01 was modified based on findings from the FTG-06a Failure Review Board. This test was the critical first step in returning GMD to successful intercept testing.
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