European Missile Defense to Protect Against Mideast Threats, not Against Russia - US military official
Washington – The U.S. goal to have elements of a missile defense system based in Europe by 2011 is intended to protect American and allied assets against emerging hostile Middle Eastern threats -- not against Russia, a senior U.S. military official says.
U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick O’Reilly, deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency, told an audience in Washington January 29 that the United States is already in discussions with Russia about U.S. missile defense plans and that the Russians are welcome to participate broadly in the deployment program. Russian defensive capability would be enhanced by Russia’s participation, he said.
Sensors and interceptors destined for Europe, he said, are oriented toward ballistic missile launches from the Middle East and are not intended to counter Russian military assets. In any case, O’Reilly said the 10 ground-based missile interceptors and a large X-Band radar that the United States would like to see deployed in Europe “would not negate their [Russia’s] arsenal, and, it’s not intended to” do so.
O’Reilly also said there has been a tremendous level of international interest in the missile defense program in the past year as evidenced by 1,000 delegates who attended a recent conference on the subject in London. Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom already are cooperating. The Polish and Czech governments want to enter discussions with the United States, and he predicted that formal talks would begin soon, perhaps within weeks or months.
The deputy director said the Polish government is interested in having the United States conduct technical surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of Polish missile defense participation.
O’Reilly also said Ukraine is interested and has approached the United States about the possibility of cooperation. With Ukraine’s “tremendous background in missile technology,” he said, “we are exploring how we can continue to work with that country.”
UNITED STATES MUST BE READY FOR ALL CONTINGENCIES
Asked about the missile defense program’s ability to counter a possible threat from Chinese anti-satellite weapons, O’Reilly said the current system does not have a mandate for that but if the Missile Defense Agency were asked to undertake such a task it could do so.
O’Reilly said the United States has had “a string of successes” since 2000 when President Bush called for development of a layered, integrated missile defense program to protect the United States, its forces around the world and its allies. He said there have been 14 (out of 15) successful flight tests with the most recent one occurring on January 26 when a missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range at Barking Sands in Hawaii against a target from a barge as part of the Terminal High Altitude Defense program. “We had a very successful intercept [against a Scud-like ballistic missile]; it hit [inside earth’s atmosphere] right where we aimed the kill vehicle to hit,” he said.
“We know we must be prepared for all contingencies to occur,” O’Reilly said. The United States currently has 14 missile interceptors located at Fort Greely, Alaska, with plans, he said, to boost that number to 21 in the next eight months.Source: usinfo.state.gov
* A medium-range target missile rises seconds after lift-off from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. (DoD)