Air and missile defence probably represents the most complex and advanced area of modern weapons systems. Dealing with such complexity demands equally complex and advanced techniques and systems engineering methods that have been successfully applied to such programmes.
Air and Missile Defense Systems Engineering tackles both these aspects with varying degrees of success. This may be due to the somewhat ambiguous title and the treatment of the subjects within the text – Is it a book about the engineering of air and missile defence systems, or is it about the systems engineering of air and missile defence? To some extent, this ambiguity persists through the book, with some elements emphasised more than others along the way. This does mean that neither aspect is covered to the extent that the title might suggest.
The nine chapters making up this book start with an ‘Introduction and Background’, which is exactly what the title suggests, although at just over 1 page in length, it is very much an outline to what is a very extensive subject.
Chapter 2, ‘Systems Engineering Fundamentals’, starts with a generic introduction to systems engineering principles but quickly adopts a defined strategy, presumably based upon the author's preferred methods, by specifying a seven-stage process based upon a concept of operations starting point. No attempt is made to describe the many systems-based techniques that might be used other than by citing a small number of references, the majority of which are rather dated. Also no mention is made of the Department of Defense Architectural Framework (DoDAF (for the UK MoDAF)) or similar frameworks. Whilst Fig. 2.3 notes the acronym WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), this very important part of any complex development programme is not mentioned in the text. Nevertheless, the particular systems engineering analysis described is well presented and is a useful, workable example of such techniques.
Chapter 3, ‘Missile Defense Problem’, describes what is the rationale behind this book – in a rather brief manner with just two sub-sections (ie, an overview and a description of the air defense environment).
Chapter 4, ‘Pre-Phase A: The Air and Missile Defense Program’, launches into the first stage of the seven-stage process described in Chapter 2. This covers the authors ‘Pre-Phase A – Project Definition’ and covers the need for an air and missile defence program and the measures of effectiveness that might be used to predict its performance. The techniques outlined would be recognised by those UK practitioners familiar with the Combined Operational Effectiveness and Investment Analysis (COEIA) process.
Working through the pre-defined process stages continues through Chapters 5 and 6 corresponding to Phase A and Phase B, as defined in the seven phases of systems engineering described in Chapter 2. Chapter 5 develops the system requirements from the central defence system through to the engagement system. The following chapter, the largest in the book and the most heavily referenced, concentrates on the engineering of air and missile defence systems and contains much of the substance of this book. However, it contains only a passing comment on warheads and fuzes, similar to that contained in Chapter 5, with no mention of the impact that a properly matched warhead and fuze has on the lethality geometry and the ‘knock-on’ effects of relaxing both seeker performance and airframe agility.
Chapter 7 deviates from this seven-phase structure approach and jumps into ‘Preliminary Systems Design Trade Analysis’, the chapter title. This is, however, consistent with the authors chosen systems engineering approach to the engineering of air and missile defence systems, as they state in Chapter 2 that program phases C to F are ‘beyond the scope of this book’.
The penultimate chapter, ‘Allocation of Performance Requirements’, is another slim chapter with just two parts, both written in a qualitative rather than quantitative manner. The first allocates radar performance requirements to subsystems, the second allocates interceptor performance requirements to interceptor subsystems.
The final chapter, ‘Physics and Mathematics of AMD Design and Analysis’, is another large text with much useful content. However, it presents a sub-set of subjects relevant to air and missile defence, which is by no means comprehensive and finishes rather abruptly on ‘Radome Boresight Error’.
The content of this book shows it is mainly about the engineering of air and missile defence systems but with coverage of the systems engineering aspects. It is not a comprehensive text on either. If you accept it as the particular systems engineering methods and techniques of two experienced practitioners, into many, but not all, aspects of the engineering of air and missile defence systems, then it becomes a useful source and worthy of a place in the library of people working in this field.
