Attacking the Theater Mobile Ballistic-Missile Threat

Major Snodgrass reviews the performance of US offensive and defensive systems against Iraq's Scuds during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and examines current US efforts to defeat these potentially destabilizing weapons. The danger of third world countries employing theater ballistic missiles has increased. Reflecting the realities of the new world order, theater missile defense is the first priority, and national missile defense is the second priority. Major Snodgrass covers the pros and cons of competing concepts to accomplish missile defense and evaluates the most promising technical solutions to the mobile ballistic-missile threat. This paper addresses how best to accomplish attack operations against the mobile ballistic missiles before they are launched. Using five basic criteria in his evaluation, he concludes that a multilayered approach, consisting of attack operations, active defense, passive defense, and a robust C4I network, forms the framework for the most effective mobile missile defense.