Strike in Defense: An Analysis of Using Strike Options in Theater Ballistic Missile Defense Using Joint Defender

Theater ballistic missile defense is a crucial part of U.S. military strategy. Missile defense is a complex task that requires detailed planning. A tool to help planners construct theater ballistic missile defense plans provides the U.S. with a strategic advantage. Joint Defender (JDEF) is an optimization-based missile defense planning tool created by a research group at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2005. Given information about a potential attack and available defenders, JDEF provides an anticipated optimal attack and opposing defense plan for the best worst case for the opponents. Since its creation in 2005, its capabilities have been expanded to better combat modern missile warfare. Among other developments, JDEF now has the ability to strike a missile complex before launch. We demonstrate JDEF's use of strike-capable interceptors in two scenarios: a hypothetical small-scale attack from Iran and a large-scale attack from North Korea. JDEF returns an optimal defense plan for the small-scale Iran scenario that minimizes maximum expected damage by 97.2 percent. JDEF returns an optimal defense plan for the large-scale North Korea scenario that minimizes maximum expected damage by 89.3 percent. Both defense plans rely heavily on strike-capable interceptors.