According to the Missile Defense Agency, the Jan. 31 major test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System, in which an interceptor fired from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., was to intercept a ballistic missile target launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, “did not perform as expected” because of a problem with the Sea-based X-band radar portion of the system. Both the interceptor and target vehicle launched successfully but there was no intercept. According to an MDA release, program officials plan “an extensive investigation” to find the cause.
The Air Force’s vision for the seamless, networked warfighting concept known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or JADC2, is all about using information to dominate the battlespace: By interconnecting systems across every domain, U.S. forces would seek to increase the operational decision space for all U.S. commanders, overwhelming adversary…