Australia’s Jindalee Radar Profiled
January 9, 2006 :: News
Australia’s Jindalee radar system, capable of “seeing” over the horizon, was recently profiled in The Australian. While standard radar sends a signal along line of sight until it bounces off its target (and therefore cannot “see” beyond the horizon), Jindalee bounces signals off the ionosphere, which lies above the stratosphere and extends about 1,000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. The signal then bounces down onto its target, allowing Jindalee to detect threats over the horizon. In this manner, Jindalee, officially known as the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), will significantly increase the time during which the U.S. and its allies can intercept incoming ballistic missiles. The Australian notes that Jindalee will be part of a larger electronic network, including spy satellites and Aegis destroyers, able to pick up the launch of a missile and determine its course and destination. Australia plans to buy three air warfare destroyers, to be equipped with the Aegis BMD system.
In July 2004, the United States and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding pledging cooperation on missile defense for the next twenty five years. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Project DUNDEE
Taiwan Said to be Developing SAM Missile Defense
January 9, 2006 :: East Asia Intel :: News
East-Asia-Intel.com reports that Taiwan is developing its own surface-to-air missile, which could have air defense and missile defense capabilities. According to local Chinese-language media reports, Taiwan is at work on the Tien Kung-3 (Sky Bow) anti-tactical ballistic missile program, comparable to the U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) system. The article notes that, if combined with the Chang Bai (Long White) radar system, the TK-3 system would be able to simultaneously engage nine targets, including cruise missiles. It is believed that the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has completed research and development of the TK-3, and will begin operational testing and evaluation this year. However, the website notes, Taiwan could be running into technical difficulties, including propulsion and targeting. (Article, Link)
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Case for Polish Participation
January 9, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: Analysis
Maria Wagrowska of the Warsaw-based Centre for International Relations and vice-president of the Euroatlantic Association, makes the case for Polish participation in U.S. missile defense. In an article entitled “Missile Shield: Opportunity for Poland to Gain ‘Added Value’ in Security Policy” printed in Rzeczpospolita, she notes that missile defense will be the “most important strategic issue” in the coming decades, as a terrorist attack using WMD carried by a ballistic missile constitutes the “worst imaginable scenario.” Missile defense, she argues, is a response to a “distant and unpredictable threat, not a short-term and well-defined one,” and that decisions made today will have an impact on scenarios that will arise 50 years from now. Wagrowska correctly identifies the long term strategic implications at stake with this issue.
Wagrowska emphasizes that Poland must be able to count on complete U.S. support in the case of future threats to its national security. In the past, the U.S.-Polish security relationship has relied on declarations made during the NATO enlargement period, during which the U.S. was the ultimate guarantor of security for the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. Because times have changed, Wagrowska says, Poland should strive to forge a “strategic agreement going far beyond an ordinary military cooperation agreement or a non-proliferation cooperation agreement.” Such an agreement should take into account financial issues, be concluded for a specified period of time, and include both a renewal clause and a termination clause, she adds.
The U.S. is said to be considering Poland as a location for the third ground-based missile site, similar to existing sites at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. (Article, Link)
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Jane’s: Taiwan Has Prototypes of New Cruise Missile
January 9, 2006 :: News
Taiwan has produced three prototypes of a new cruise missile which could be used to strike the east coast of China, reports Jane’s Defence Weekly. The missile, known as the Hsiung Feng 2E (Brave Wind), has a range of more than 600 km (360 miles), meaning that if deployed on Penghu Island in the south or Tungyin Island in the north, it could strike as far south as Hong Kong and as far north as Shanghai. Initial plans are said to be for the production of up to 50 missiles before 2010, and up to 500 missiles beginning after 2010.
Jane’s adds that Taiwan’s military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the developer of the missile, plans to extend the HF-2E’s range to 1,000 km, although this would require the acquisition of specialized engine components from the U.S. So far, Washington has refused to provide these components, perhaps due to provisions under the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Efforts by Taiwan to begin limited cruise and ballistic missile programs are a response to the bloated missile buildup by their larger Communist neighbor, with now over 700 ballistic missiles and a some hundreds of cruise missiles stationed deployed within range of the small island nation. (Article, Link)
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Capabilities of Japanese Ship-Based Defenses
January 1, 2006 :: News
The U.S. and Japan are moving forward on the joint Aegis ship-based missile defense program, reports Defense Daily. The Missile Defense Agency plans to conduct a test of the Standard Missile-3 in March 2006, which could accelerate development of the missile. The SM-3, the interceptor for the ship-based Aegis defense system, features a two-color seeker, advanced signal processing, and a new divert and attitude control system. As noted by Rear Admiral Brad Hicks, commander and program director, the SM-3 will significantly increase the area a ship can defend and increase the kill probability against a larger threat. At present, Japan has committed to deploy SM-3 interceptors on one destroyer and three other ships. (Link)
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» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Hackett on Need for East Coast Defenses
January 1, 2006 :: Washington Times :: Analysis
James T. Hackett argues persuasively in The Washington Times that the U.S. must defend its highly-populated East Coast against ballistic missile attack. He acknowledges that MDA is correctly concentrating on deploying the most urgent missile defenses in Alaska and California, to defend against threats from North Korea and China. Yet Hackett reminds us that major East Coast population centers remain vulnerable to attack from the Middle East.
Iran, for instance, is determined to produce both long-range missiles and nuclear warheads, and is anywhere from a few months to a few years away from having a nuclear bomb. Iran is also at work on a longer-range variation of its Shahab-3 missile that would be able to strike Western Europe. It is possible that the Iranians could extend this new missile to reach the eastern U.S. In addition, Al-Qaeda still considers Washington and New York among its prime targets and would like to strike them yet again. It is possible that Al-Qaeda could get its hands on a ballistic missile armed with a nuclear warhead, perhaps one of the hundreds of aging ballistic missiles and thousands of nuclear warheads in Russia.
Hackett’s solution is to begin work on a ground-based missile site in Europe, and his site recommendation is Poland. A long and reliable friend, Poland recently elected a pro-American, anti-terror, conservative government. As Hackett argues, “A site there would strengthen our military alliance with Poland and move toward the goal of a global missile defense.” The U.S. would, with such a site, also achieve a missile defense for the East Coast, at least against certain types of missile threats. (Article, Link)
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Japan To Cover One Third of Cost
December 15, 2005 :: AP :: News
Japan will shoulder between one third and one half of the cost of building a joint missile defense shield with the U.S. According to officials inside Japan’s Defense Agency, Tokyo and Washington are still negotiating exactly how much each country will cover, although Japan expects to shoulder at least $1 billion of the estimated $3 billion total cost. A central element of the joint missile defense shield is the sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor, which will be deployed on Aegis destroyers to defend Japan from ballistic missile attack. (Link)
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» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)
Poland in Talks Over Possible Interceptor Site
November 14, 2005 :: News
In response to the report Saturday by the Polish daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s new prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz confirmed Monday that his government has opened a public debate on whether the country should allow the U.S. to install missile defense interceptors base on Polish territory. Marcinkiewicz confirmed that Poland has been in talks for the past three years about the possibility of hosting such a base, and that the government has said it would like Poland to be covered by the U.S. Missile Defense program, but said that, contrary to reports, no decisions have yet been made. “This is an important issue for Poland, related to our security and to our cooperation with an important ally,” Marcinkiewicz said. It was also reported that the Industrial Telecommunications Institute in Warsaw, which makes radar systems, confirmed that it had signed an agreement for cooperation on the project with Boeing in May 2003. The U.S. State Department confirmed that it is Poland’s decision whether to become involved in any missile defense system but the United States welcomes allied participation. “It’s up to them to decide how and whether they will be involved,” said State Department press officer Tom Casey.
Such a site would, as the Prime Minister noted, benefit Poland with enhanced security commitments by the United States. It would also be a major step toward discouraging countries’ reliance, perhaps especially in Europe, upon mutual vulnerability to nuclear attacks as the basis of strategic stability. For the United States, such a base would potentially be useful to allow additional interceptors a chance to intercept a missile coming from the Middle East over the pole and toward America. Russia continues to express concern that such Europe-based sites could negate the threat of its offensive nuclear arsenal against the U.S., but the U.S. continues to emphasize that ground-based midcourse defenses such as those which could possibly be put in Poland would be very likely useless against any Russian missile attack over the pole. (Link)
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Japan Plans to Acquire 124 PAC-3 Interceptors for Defense
November 14, 2005 :: Kyodo :: News
The Japanese Defense Agency is planning to acquire 124 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) defensive interceptor missiles by fiscal 2010. The first 32 interceptors will be purchased from the United States, designed to be deployed at the military air bases perhaps as early as next year, and the remainder domestically produced in Japan. The move represents a very salutary and promising shift in international acceptance of the threat from ballistic missiles and the need to pursue active defense systems.
Kyodo reports that the missiles will be able to hit cruise missiles at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers, and that they will supplement the sea-based interceptors that will be a part of Japan’s defensive system based on Aegis destroyers, also of US origin. “Defensive coverage is limited and other areas (not covered) will be dependent on interception from Aegis ships,” a senior military officer is quoted as saying.
The missiles imported from the United States are said to cost around 500 million yen each, but the remainder will be produced by the domestic Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. company which is licensed to produce the interceptors. The joint production deal with Mitsubishi implements an agreement that was signed in March whereby the Bush administration authorized Japan to co-produce Patriots.
The plans for deployment include Tokyo and six other major urban centers, as well as four military bases in Saitama, Shizuoka, Gifu and Fukuoka prefectures; the bases will each receive four PAC-3 launch systems between 2006 and 2010. There will also be a total of two backup units overall. Of these 18 systems, 15 of them will have eight missiles each. (Article, Link)
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Romanian General on Deployment Possibility
January 3, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Reports that the U.S. would deploy missile defense elements in Romania are “speculation,” according to a top Romanian general. Speaking on Radio Romania Actualitati, General Eugen Badalan, Chief of the Romanian Army’s General Staff, stated that the issue “has never been broached at the National Defence Ministry level or at the Army’s General Staff level.” The interview on Bucharest radio was a response to pieces in The Washington Times.
On December 27, James Hackett had written in The Washington Times that the U.S. plans to build a third ground-based missile site in Europe, similar to those in Alaska and California. Hackett had noted that “prime locations” under consideration are Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, or Romania. (Article, Link)
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