Rear Admiral Joseph Horn Jr. on Ballistic Missile Technologies and Amphibious Defenses

Rear Admiral Horn is a native of Philadelphia, Pa., and Audubon, N.J. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Horn’s first duty assignment was in USS Sampson (DDG 10). Subsequent sea duty assignments include USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), USS Ticonderoga (CG 47), and USS Anzio (CG 68). He commanded USS Stout (DDG 55) and USS Lake Erie (CG 70). While in command of Lake Erie, the ship conducted multiple successful ballistic missile engagements and won the Spokane Trophy, two Edward F. Ney awards, and two Battle Es. Horn has deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Eastern and Western Pacific, and conducted extensive operations in the Caribbean and Baltic Seas and Atlantic Ocean. Ashore, Horn earned a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School and is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI alumnus. He has served on the Joint Staff (J8) and the staffs of Joint Forces Command (J6), U.S. Fleet Forces (N8), and OPNAV (N86). His previous assignment was deputy director, Missile Defense Agency. Horn’s personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (Two Awards), Legion of Merit (Two Awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (Four Awards), Navy Commendation Medal (Two Awards), and Navy Achievement Medal (Two Awards). IDGA: You will be discussing ballistic missile technologies and amphibious defenses at the amphibious operations summit in May. Could you speak to the US' current missile defense engagement capabilities? RADM Horn: The Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) is providing defensive capabilities utilizing a variety of ground and sea-based interceptors integrated with a global command, control, battle management and communication (C2BMC) system. Currently, long-range land-based interceptors for homeland defense are located at Fort Greely, Alaska and at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. We also have Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Block 1A interceptors aboard a number of U.S. Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers to intercept short to medium-range ballistic missiles, and we have also successfully tested the SM-3 Block 1A against an intermediate range ballistic missile. Deliveries are continuing to the U.S. Army of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, a transportable defensive system that is designed to intercept short to medium range ballistic missiles inside or just outside earth's atmosphere, when the hostile missile is in its terminal phase of flight. We also have transportable AN/TPY-2 X-band radars in Japan, Israel and Turkey, with plans to have up to 11 radars available for worldwide deployment. Existing early warning radars in the United Kingdom, Greenland and California have been upgraded with modern data processing and communication equipment, and have been integrated into the BMDS. The global C2BMC system ties all system elements together for integrated command and control. IDGA: In what ways are missile technologies improving? What are the primary challenges of developing effective defenses against rising missile capabilities? RADM Horn: We plan to upgrade and refurbish as necessary the long-range ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California to attain maximum reliability and capability. We have also begun flight testing a more advanced version of the SM-3, the Block 1B. Subsequent models, the Block IIA and Block IIB, will provide highly advanced intercept capabilities. Aegis ballistic missile defense will become more capable through spiral upgrades, providing the ability to engage increasingly longer range and more sophisticated ballistic missile threats. A challenge will include validating the capability to provide depth of fire and improved effectiveness using netted sensors—ground, sea and space-based. IDGA: Could you speak to speak to ongoing efforts in the area of Ballistic Missile Defense Long Range Surveillance and Track (LRS&T)? RADM Horn: The current SPY-1 radar aboard missile defense-capable Aegis ships is an excellent radar for LRST, but we can greatly enhance this capability with the netting of a variety of ground, sea and space-based sensors. On 28 April 2011, an SM-3 Block 1A successfully intercepted an intermediate-range ballistic missile using data from a ground-based AN/TPY-2 radar. On 20 February 2008, we successfully conducted the first launch on a remote sensor when an SM-3 Block 1A intercepted and destroyed a malfunctioning U.S. satellite using targeting data supplied by a variety of ground and space-based sensors. With a wide variety of available sensors, the BMDS will greatly benefit from our ability to successfully network these sensors together for better detection, tracking and engagement and targeting data. Rear Admiral Horn will be speaking at IDGA’s Amphibious Operations Summit, to be held from May 21-23, 2012 in Washington, DC. For more information on the event, visit www.AmphibiousOperationsEvent.com, or call 1-800-882-8684.

Rear Admiral Joseph Horn Jr. on Ballistic Missile Technologies and Amphibious Defenses

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