Eight months after the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced a renewed interest in technologies for “early intercept” of ballistic missiles, plans are beginning to take shape with a focus on the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for ballistic missile target tracking.

Requirements are not yet firm for this capability, but several architecture studies will provide data on how the agency will proceed and where it plans to put its funding in the forthcoming budgets.

Early intercept (once called boost-phase or ascent-phase intercept) has been desirable for at least two reasons:

•Intercept during the threat missile’s boost allows for it to be destroyed in the enemy’s territory and eliminates its ability to enter the cold backdrop of space, where the U.S. struggles with tracking.

•If an early intercept attempt fails, there is generally time to assess and fire another weapon.

The latter strategy is particularly attractive for the Pentagon now, as threat assessments predict potential “raids” of ballistic missiles, which are tens of missiles fired nearly simultaneously in an effort to overwhelm defenses with sheer numbers of threats.

“We’d like to get him as early in the trajectory as possible. . . . Our main goal is to have enough time to hit him first, take a look and see what damage we’ve done, and then get another opportunity to shoot one more time,” says Rich Matlock, MDA director for advanced programs.

“The real impact in terms of approving our warfighting capability is to be able to shoot him, look and see what damage we’ve done, and then shoot him again. It saves inventory.”

Currently, officials may be required to shoot two interceptors at an offending missile early in its flight to assure a kill even if the first one scores a hit. What is lacking is sufficient time to assess the success of the first interceptor before deciding to dispatch a second, and this is largely because current capabilities limit engagements until later in a threat missile’s flight.

MDA Executive Director David Altwegg announced in May during the annual budget briefing that some early intercept efforts were showing promise, and some were being declassified.