Tri-Service
Ballistic Missile Defence Systems Tested Off Scottish Coast
The Outer Hebrides, off the coast of Scotland, have been playing host to a range of ballistic missile intercepts.
The Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum is a coalition aimed at coordinating missile defense efforts, and includes sailors, ships and personnel from nine nations in total.
The UK offered the Hebrides range to the nations since it was geographically convenient and economical for the majority of the participating nations. Many nations were already sending ships to participate in the bi-annual UK hosted Joint Warrior Exercise.
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The Royal Navy's Type-45 Destroyer HMS Dauntless joined allies from eight other nations to test missile defence systems in Europe.
France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK and the US all provided ships and aircraft for the exercise, while Germany contributed personnel.
The goal of the exercises was to test the allies’ capability to counter multiple missile threats and coordinate their actions in defending against several missiles at once. This is known as an 'integrated air and missile defense concept', military.com reports, citing the US 6th Fleet.
Participants must also defeat an anti-ship missile fired simultaneously from closer range
The exercise also saw a first. After the Royal Navy launched a short-range Terrier Orion ballistic missile, US destroyer USS Ross carried out the first live intercept of a ballistic target in Europe, with it also being the first time a ballistic missile defence system has been fired on a non-US. range.
US Navy ship destroys a ballistic missile for the first time from foreign sea range
A Royal Navy spokesperson described the UK's involvement in the exercise:
“The UK is currently hosting a demonstration of ballistic missile defences which is taking place predominantly in open waters to the north and west of Scotland. Its objective is to exercise collectively against a number of air and missile defence scenarios with a focus on integration and interoperability among partner nations."
He concluded that "The demonstration represents a key component of the UK’s prudent research in the area of theatre ballistic missile defence in order to permit options in the future.”
The MTMD Forum was established in 1999 conceived as a co-operation body for participating navies to develop improved cooperation and promote interoperability in sea-based missile defense.
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