America's porous missile shield in Asia 0
Holes in America’s missile shield in Asia
SM-3 is America’s longest-range interceptor missile in Asia
North Korea possesses a series of ballistic missiles capable of attacking US military bases in the Pacific, not to mention the Hwasong-14 model with a range that can reach the state of Alaska.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are most vulnerable to being shot down in the middle phase of their journey, when the warhead is in space and preparing to hit the target.
The main US long-range interception force in Asia is a fleet of 16 cruisers and destroyers equipped with the Aegis system, of which 5 are stationed long-term at the military port of Yokosuka, Japan.
The Aegis combat system is designed on the AN/SPY-1D passive electronically scanned array radar platform, which can detect and track many types of ballistic missiles from short to long range.
When the target is identified, one of six warships carrying US or Japanese SM-3 interceptor missiles will open fire.
US warship test-fires SM-3 Block II missile.
According to military expert Kris Osborn, SM-3 Block IIA was jointly developed by the US and Japan to intercept medium-range (MRBM) and long-range (IRBM) ballistic missiles.
One issue affecting the missile defense capabilities of Aegis warships is the cost of the SM-3.
Each SM-3 missile costs 9-24 million USD depending on the version, making mass equipping dozens of destroyers and cruisers with missiles a huge burden on the US and Japanese defense budgets.
To intercept short-range missiles (SRBMs) and MRBMs, the US relies on the THAAD system, which has a range of nearly 200 km.
THAAD system intercepts test target
THAAD system intercepts test target.
The final shield is the Patriot PAC-3 system, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles from a distance of 20-35 km.
America’s multi-layered shield is likely to be penetrated by North Korean ballistic missiles if the gap in the number of interceptor missiles and the low effectiveness of actual testing are not resolved soon.
