Background

a. Threat missiles include BMs, CMs, and ASMs (not including short-range, nonnuclear, direct fire missiles, bombs, or rockets such as Maverick or wire-guided missiles). Their targets are within a given theater of operations. Threat missiles have unique capabilities that must be considered when planning countermeasures. For example, no other target system can put a warhead into the theater JSA or threaten friendly population centers and neutral countries in a matter of minutes. Other target systems do not create public panic and a political situation each time a launch is broadcasted on television worldwide by reporters wearing gas masks. 

b. Modern threat missiles can have very long ranges, deliver a variety of warheads, including high explosives and WMD, and can be difficult to counter. Because they arerelatively cost-effective weapons, BMs are weapons of choice for many developing nations. Such weapons provide an offensive capability and, when mated with a WMD, may give a nation the ability to deter a potential adversary by holding population centers and/or military forces at risk. 

c. Threat missiles may be used alone or in conjunction with other weapon systems. Their targets can vary from political to military, such as population centers, ports, airfields, headquarters, AD sites, C2 elements, communications nodes, and logistics centers. They can quickly put key civilian facilities at risk, such as power and water stations, petroleum pumping and storage sites, and industrial complexes. BMs and CMs also present a serious threat to merchant shipping, critical sea-lanes, and maritime operations in the littorals. 

Generic Architecture

Although there are many variables between the different types of threat missiles, they generally share a common architecture. Missile programs may have one or more of the following aspects:

a. Research and Development. If a country is developing its own missile system or adapting a system purchased from another country, there will be a center, institution, and personnel responsible for the research and development (R&D) effort. However, if a country purchases the complete missile system, there may be no R&D effort unless they attempt to improve the design. 

b. Manufacturing. Countries that develop their own systems or adapt those produced by other nations require dedicated manufacturing and testing facilities. They also may have to develop or refine the fuel for the missile systems. 

c. Purchase and Import. Countries that purchase systems from other nations will have prepared sites for receipt of missile system components and fuels. These ports of entry may be air-, land- (road or rail), or sea-based. These locations may have receipt, inspection, and storage capabilities. 

d. Transportation. Missile components move from their manufacturing or importing site by rail, road, air, and/or sea to permanent storage sites. In some cases, the missiles may be carried by their transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) unit. 

e. Missile Storage. Missile storage locations are required at the point of manufacture, at the point of receipt, in missile unit base locations, and at training installations. Missile storage sites are likely to be constructed and developed within projected operational areas as well. If not mounted on a TEL, storage may include innocuous containers or special canisters that house the missiles until they are launched.

f. Warhead Storage. Warhead storage sites are usually located in ammunition areas and may not be easily discernible from bunkers holding other munitions. However, WMD warheads require specialized storage, handling, and, most notably, higher security. WMD generally have telltale signs for not only storage but for movement as well.

g. Basing. Missile units are usually located at military bases for OPSEC and safety purposes. Most training and equipment maintenance occurs at these locations. Land-based units likely will move from their garrisons to conduct combat operations. Air units with CMs and ASMs conduct training and wartime operations directly from their home air bases or from dispersal fields. BM units are likely to utilize passive AD measures such as mobility, dispersal, and concealment to complicate their being targeted. 

h. Assembly Areas. In cases where BMs and warheads are shipped and stored separately, one of the final stages of preparing the weapon for operations is mating the warhead to the missile body. This may be a training event so it can be efficiently done for combat operations. For aircraft, the loading process could be an indication and warning for intelligence sources, as would the assembly of BMs.

i. Launch Areas. Missile attacks normally take place from planned launch areas. The characteristics of the launch areas are dependent on missile type. Historically, BMs usually start from a hide position then move to the launch point. ASMs must be flown to a launch point within range of the target.

j. Launch Preparation. After arrival at a launch area, most BMs require some prelaunch preparation. These activities may involve fueling and testing the missile and warhead components along with some assembly operations. Launch preparations for liquid fueled missiles generally require longer setup/checkout time than do solid fuel missiles. 

k. C2. Planning missile operations is normally a highly centralized process with tight control over the employment and selection of targets. Execution of missile operations may be either centralized or decentralized. The degree of centralization is generally determined by the degree of control desired by senior civilian or military leaders, the capability for secure communications, the ability of the opposing forces to detect or locate transmitters, and the tactics employed. 

l. Support Units. Most missile systems require a support system. Support units provide a variety of functions to include maintenance, rearming and refueling, personnel replacement, etc. They also deliver replacement warheads and missiles and conduct all the electronic testing and repair. During peacetime, these units probably will be colocated with the missile firing units in garrison.