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Bill Sweetman, editor of Aviation Week, published an article on missile defense changes under the current administration.

“First was the shift in emphasis from mid-course defeat to ‘early intercept’ and from heavy ground-based interceptors (GBIs) to sea-based and land-based versions of the U.S. Navy/Raytheon SM-3,” he writes. “Nobody was surprised when this was followed in September by the scrapping of plans to install Boeing’s GBIs in Poland and announcement of a phased adaptive approach (PAA) based on SM-3.”

Sweetman says rapid changes in our approach has NATO allies uncertain whether the U.S. is “sensitive” to their concerns. Changes have also caused confusion over the nationality of the commander on the scene during an interception.

“The [phased adaptive approach] PAA is in four phases, determined by a new assessment of the threat (principally from Iran) that downplays the imminence of long-range missile development. Phase 1 in 2011 will derive from the current sea-based SM-3 Block 1A, with “engage-on-remote” guidance from TPY-2 radar. Land-based SM-3 Block 1B missiles (with a new kill vehicle) will be added in Phase 2 in 2015 to expand the defended area, along with new sensors, possibly airborne infrared devices. The big-booster Block IIA SM-3 arrives in Phase 3 in 2018, followed two years later by the Block IIB, a further development—possibly spawned from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s classified budget—which has some capability against intercontinental missiles.

“One question is how these phases mesh with European NATO plans. NATO is following a three-track approach to missile defense: continued assessment of the U.S. PAA, exploration of cooperation with Russia and NATO’s Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) program, which is aimed at protecting deployed forces from weapons up to 3,000 km. (1,865 mi.) in range.”

Read the full article here.