The Pentagon is collaborating with industry to investigate the idea that F-35s equipped with bombs, missiles, or lasers could shoot down an incoming Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying nuclear warheads that was aimed at the US, potentially adding a new line of defense. According to industry and Pentagon developers, the idea is to employ F-35 weaponry and sensors to find or shoot down an ICBM launch as it is traveling upward in its initial “boost” phase into the edge of the earth’s atmosphere.
The F-35 may employ a “kinetic” approach, in which it fires at and destroys an ICBM in launch, or a “sensor” approach, in which it “cues missile defense systems.” There is a growing consensus that investigating F-35 nuclear missile defense is something of significant potential usefulness, despite Pentagon F-35 officials’ emphasis that the F-35 program is currently concentrated on nearer-term tasks like delivering software upgrades to the aircraft. Initial discussions and conceptual work are already in progress.
The possibility of doing this with an F-35 opens up a number of defensive options that aren’t currently included in the Pentagon’s missile defense capabilities. For instance, an F-35 might launch air-to-ground bombs or missiles to destroy an ICBM, or it could even employ lasers and electronic warfare to destroy, jam, or disrupt the ICBM’s flight path. An ICBM may be forced off course and land in the ocean or another unpopulated location, which would be less damaging if the propulsion or guidance systems were disrupted.
Additionally, a fleet of F-35s may work together as a networked “relay system” using the Multi-function Advanced Data Link (MADL) to transmit threat information and alert the US missile defense systems. This MADL data link might potentially increase the range of systems able to discover or detect an enemy ICBM because it allows a group of F-35s to all observe the same thing simultaneously while on a mission. It should go without saying that the sooner Combatant Commanders and decision-makers become aware of an ICBM strike, the more time they have to plan and execute a defense or launch a retaliation.
It is more difficult for some weapons and attack assets to reach many of the ICBM launch sites created by possible enemies since they are located far inland and are well protected by air defenses. Additionally, a 70-page chapter on Chinese military development was included in the US-China Economic and Security Review, a Congressional Report from 2014. Among its many conclusions, the research specifically mentioned Chinese “mobile” ICBM launchers, some of which may have up to 10 “reentry vehicles.” These weapons, of course, pose serious new hazards, and defending against them becomes more challenging as more reentry vehicles approach a target.
With this in mind, it appears that the initial launch or “boost” phase of an ICBM would present the best opportunity for an F-35 to have the intended missile-defense impact. An F-35 might bring the ability to use stealth, speed, and maneuverability to operate above heavily defended inland areas to find, chase, and destroy mobile launchers. Due to the quantity of reentry vehicles, hitting an ICBM attack at the final, or “terminal,” phase would be difficult. All of this begs the issue of whether an F-35 may be a component of an integrated system capable of spotting and neutralizing enemy ICBMs as they rocket through space.
While challenging, it might one day be conceivable for an F-35 to communicate with satellites using GPS or other air-mounted sensors. These satellites might then launch lasers or some type of interceptor to hit an ICBM while it was in space. In this case, an F-35 would serve as a networked “node” or sensor rather than an actual attacker, as per above. By perhaps filling a need in the market or, at the very least, significantly enhancing current land-based missile defense systems, an F-35 would add something new to the field of missile defense. US ICBM missile defense weapons are generally land-based, in contrast to offensive nuclear deterrents including air, sea, and land weapons.
For instance, a Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) stationed at Vandenberg AFB, California, or Fort Greely, Alaska, would launch into space during an ICBM’s mid-course phase of flight to intercept the incoming missile. This poses a number of difficulties because GBIs require sensors or embedded technology to be able to distinguish between decoy ICBMs and real ones. This is why the Pentagon is developing the Next Generation Interceptor, a system that can both identify and eliminate numerous incoming missiles or decoys that are moving through space. Numerous decoys flying alongside an ICBM can improve the likelihood that an actual nuclear warhead will go on to its target. A multiple kill vehicle, as the name suggests, merges multiple interceptors onto one missile.
Because of this, sensors can identify between decoys and missiles. However, it is difficult to locate and destroy several ICBMs, according to any estimate. For ground-based interceptors, a single launch from a rogue state like North Korea—which can only launch one or two ICBMs at most—presents a far more manageable threat. In contrast, an incoming salvo of ICBMs presents a unique set of challenges. This gives rise to two possible strategies: the first would be an offensive deterrent using the US nuclear triad to prevent a first strike from ever occurring by guaranteeing a catastrophic retaliation; the second would involve a variety of ongoing technologically advanced defensive measures, such as things like satellites, lasers, Multiple Kill-Vehicles, or F-35s.
ICBM destruction differs greatly from monitoring or intercepting a short-range or medium-range ballistic missile. As an aerial node for the Navy’s Naval Integrated Fire Control – Counter Air system, the F-35 has already been tested in this capacity. This system, which is currently in operation, disables approaching missiles from distances beyond the horizon by using a guided SM-6 missile, an aerial sensor node, and ship-based Aegis radar. The aerial node of the NIFC-CA has always been an E-2 Hawkeye surveillance plane. Now, the system can use a far more capable F-35 as the aerial sensor.
