Josh made some valid points here and here on September 4, 2019 (in response to my article) regarding the unlikelihood of the US developing new land launched intermediate range missile systems.
Reasons for unlikelihood include missile development costs, nuclear warhead redevelopment and production costs, pre-existence of US cruise missiles, guided bomb and ballistic missile dropping airpower and lack of allies willing to host land launched intermediate range missile systems.
On the assumption existing weapons are cheaper to further develop, hence "sell" to the US taxpayer and US government budgeters one exception might be extending the short (160 km) range of the US MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS) to the now irrelevant 499 km intermediate treaty range.
The US has been studying intercontinental-global strike hypersonic weapons but they require much mere time and funds to develop than 2 intermediate range weapons that China has already developed. The US has been impressed with the hypersonic (with suspected but not yet fully demonstrated) anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) capabilities of land launched Chinese DF-21Ds and DF-26s.
These represent new types of anti-ship weapon systems that US airpower and cruise missiles cannot match for speed-range.
A Possible US (DF-21D and DF-26 like) Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile
The most likely candidate may be a future anti-ship version of an extended range MGM-140 (ATacMS).
Helpfully the writers of Wikipedia have already broached the subject but, significantly they did this before the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty expired on February 1, 2019. Hence their reservations about limiting ATacMS range below the treaty limit of 500 km is no longer limiting.
Wiki reports:
As well as ships an ATacMS with a nuclear warhead could be used as a rapid intermediate range defense against enemy submarines and against Russia's Poseidon (Status-6)(NATO Kanyon) nuclear armed, nuclear propelled torpedo/AUV.
There are many points on US territory that a conventional or nuclear warhead, land based 500+ km range, anti-ship, ATacMS could be placed including:
- east and west coast continental US
- Alaska to block the Bering Strait and against Russia's Rybachiy SSBN and SSN Base
- Hawaii (particularly if its range were boosted out to 5,500 km (like China's DF-26)
- Guam to hit Chinese ships and submarines in the Yellow, East and South China Seas and Chinese
coastal bases.
- Also acting as a second strike against Chinese nuclear tipped DF-21D and DF-26 use.
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Pete
Reasons for unlikelihood include missile development costs, nuclear warhead redevelopment and production costs, pre-existence of US cruise missiles, guided bomb and ballistic missile dropping airpower and lack of allies willing to host land launched intermediate range missile systems.
On the assumption existing weapons are cheaper to further develop, hence "sell" to the US taxpayer and US government budgeters one exception might be extending the short (160 km) range of the US MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS) to the now irrelevant 499 km intermediate treaty range.
The US has been studying intercontinental-global strike hypersonic weapons but they require much mere time and funds to develop than 2 intermediate range weapons that China has already developed. The US has been impressed with the hypersonic (with suspected but not yet fully demonstrated) anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) capabilities of land launched Chinese DF-21Ds and DF-26s.
These represent new types of anti-ship weapon systems that US airpower and cruise missiles cannot match for speed-range.
A Possible US (DF-21D and DF-26 like) Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile
The most likely candidate may be a future anti-ship version of an extended range MGM-140 (ATacMS).
Helpfully the writers of Wikipedia have already broached the subject but, significantly they did this before the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty expired on February 1, 2019. Hence their reservations about limiting ATacMS range below the treaty limit of 500 km is no longer limiting.
Wiki reports:
"In October 2016, it was revealed that the ATacMS would be upgraded with an existing seeker to enable it to strike moving targets on land and at sea.[18]
In March 2016, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon announced they would offer a missile to meet the U.S. Army's Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) requirement to replace the ATACMS.
The missile will use advanced propulsion to fly faster and further, out to 310 miles (500 km) ([no longer] limited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty),[19] while also being thinner and sleeker, increasing loadout to two per pod, doubling the number able to be carried by M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS launchers.[20][21]
Lockheed and Raytheon will test-fire their submissions for the renamed Precision Strike Missile (PRSM) program in 2019, with the selected weapon planned to achieve Initial Operational Capability in 2023; the initial PRSM will only be able to hit stationary targets on land, but later versions will track moving targets on land and sea.[22]
If the United States withdraws from the INF Treaty [as it now has], the range of the PRSM could be increased beyond the '499 km' limitation placed upon it by the treaty.[23]
As well as ships an ATacMS with a nuclear warhead could be used as a rapid intermediate range defense against enemy submarines and against Russia's Poseidon (Status-6)(NATO Kanyon) nuclear armed, nuclear propelled torpedo/AUV.
There are many points on US territory that a conventional or nuclear warhead, land based 500+ km range, anti-ship, ATacMS could be placed including:
- east and west coast continental US
- Alaska to block the Bering Strait and against Russia's Rybachiy SSBN and SSN Base
- Hawaii (particularly if its range were boosted out to 5,500 km (like China's DF-26)
- Guam to hit Chinese ships and submarines in the Yellow, East and South China Seas and Chinese
coastal bases.
- Also acting as a second strike against Chinese nuclear tipped DF-21D and DF-26 use.
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS)(Photo courtesy DEFPOST).
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Pete