20 Terms
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Missile defense
Measures designed to detect, identify, track, and defeat attacking (ballistic) missiles in both strategic and theater tactical roles, during any portion of their flight trajectory (boost, post-boost, midcourse, or terminal) or to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of such attack.
Industry: Military
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Missile defense
tactical control
Military; Missile defense
The detailed and, usually, local direction and control of movements or maneuvers necessary to accomplish missions or tasks assigned.
pancake altitude
Military; Missile defense
Altitude at which the trailing edge of a chaff puff/cloud effectively catches up to the leading edge because of atmospheric slowdown.
ultraviolet (UV)
Military; Missile defense
Electromagnetic radiation of wavelength between the shortest visible violet (about 3,850 Angstroms) and soft x-rays (about 100 Angstroms).
aerothermal kill
Military; Missile defense
A kill in which the thermal shielding of the target RV is damaged by the defensive system. The RV is subsequently destroyed during reentry.
event validation
Military; Missile defense
A sensor element internal process that results in a determination by the operator that the sensor is healthy and the event reported is real.
top-down testing
Military; Missile defense
The process of checking out hierarchically organized programs, progressively, from top to bottom, using simulation of lower level components.
command guidance
Military; Missile defense
A guidance system wherein intelligence transmitted to the missile from an outside source causes the missile to traverse a directed flight path.
