RIM-161 SM-3 AEGIS BMD for Israel

In September 2009 the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) stated that it believed land-based SM-3 could provide Israel with a near-term solution to counter the ballistic missile threat from Iran and placed $50 million in the fiscal year 2010 budget to continue development of the system. In 2003, Raytheon Missile Systems recognized the need to develop and deploy a land-based variant of Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and has been pursuing the concept largely using its own funding for five years.

Because the land-based concept integrates an existing set of components - the SM-3 missile, the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and the AN-TPY-2 radar - it's an affordable, low-risk option for a very real threat. By using existing, proven, cost-effective Raytheon technologies, the company has also eliminated critical research and development costs. Raytheon has already tested and proved that compatibility of the missile engagement logic works with the THAAD fire control system.

"Land-based SM-3 would add additional depth of fire for those nations that already possess terminal phase defenses, allow for more sophisticated engagement strategies and reduce vulnerability to countermeasures, forcing an enemy to alter or abandon tactics to penetrate the defensive system," said Mike Booen, Raytheon's vice president of Advanced Security and Directed Energy Systems. "With the SM-3 production line operational and some integration work already completed, with adequate funding we could trial the Land Based SM-3 system one year before the MDA's notional initial operating capability of 2014."

Developing and fielding a system from scratch could take 10 or more years and cost more than $1 billion. SM-3 is a proven and mature system already deployed on U.S. and Japanese ships worldwide. The AN/TPY-2 X-band radar is proven and deployed in Israel and Japan and is part of THAAD System. Land-based SM-3, along with sea-based SM-3, has applicability worldwide and could provide regional ballistic missile defense in the Middle East, Europe and the Pacific.