... airborne targets, are capable of hitting ballistic targets at an altitude of 20 km and a range of about 50 km, i.e. directly above the protected target.
The highest density of missile defense can be provided by sea-based systems on warships with the Aegis BMDS. The characteristics of the latest modifications of the SM-3 Block IIa interceptors provide the
capability
of destroying various classes and types of missiles as well as low-orbit satellites at a range of more than 2,000 km and an altitude of more ...
... some sources describe the SM-IIA and AWS 5.1 versions and higher as having “a limited capability” to combat IBMs
[9]
.
Russia’s Fears
So what is the Russian side afraid of? Russia’s concerns are most fully formulated in the BMD-related materials of the
2012 Moscow Conference on International Security
. They boil down to the following points:
The third and now cancelled fourth phase of the EPAA threatens Russian IBMs and SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missile) in various flight trajectories.
Improvement of the SM-3 family ...
... increase security on the peninsula.
As regards mutual nuclear deterrence (this Cold War concept can be observed in miniature on the Korean Peninsula today), there is much about it that defies the traditional definition. The defence systems, notably BMD, while protecting one side, diminish the deterrent potential of the other. Given a high-quality BMD, there may be a temptation to strike first, in order to destroy the bulk of the strategic nuclear force, and then try to beat off a retaliatory strike....