Future Short Range Ground-Based Air Defence: System Drivers, Characteristics and Architectures

Abstract : The widemng political unceitainties and World instability of the last decade has led to the West moving away from maintaimng armed forces largely to assure national survival. Now it looks towards maintenance of peace through promoting stability and countering regional aggression and towards humarntanan opemtions including peace enforcement. This had led to a growing emphasis on expeditionary forces and away from the concept of "farces in place". Short range ground-based air defence (GBAD) systems provide an essential defence capability for mobile expeditionary forces and provide the persistence which other air defence elements lack. Today's forces, however. facc not just uncertainty. but capability gaps against fl% increasingly divcrsc air thrcat.