Bush and Putin Set to Meet at G-8
June 7, 2007 :: CNN :: News
President George W. Bush planned to discuss US plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe with Russian President Vladimir Putin while in Heiligendamm, Germany, for the G-8 summit. The proposed American system would involve ten Ground Based Interceptors in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic, is designed to defend against a limited missile attack from countries in the Middle East, such as Iran.
A number of Russian officials, including Putin, have expressed serious concerns that the system could serve to negate its offensive nuclear arsenal, resents the placement of the facilities in its former sphere of influence. Putin has also threatened that any such deployment could result in Russian retargeting of its missiles toward Europe. President Bush has reiterated that the ten interceptors pose no threat to Russia's broad strategic forces, and said he hoped to convince Putin that the proposed U.S. missile interceptors is not an issue "to be hyperventilating about." (Article, Link)
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Russia Not Planning Withdrawal from Arms Treaty
June 7, 2007 :: Defense News :: News
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 6 that the “question will not be raised” as to whether Russia will withdraw from the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty at an emergency meeting later this month. Russian President Putin had previously called for a freeze of Russia’s compliance with the treaty, and suggesting that Russia could withdraw. NATO and Russia have disputed the treaty's provisions since 1999. NATO says Russia has not honored its commitments to withdraw forces from Moldova and Georgia, while Russia accuses the U.S. of proposing to militarize Eastern Europe with new missile facilities and bases in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. (Article, Link)
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Rice Defends European Interceptors Plan
April 12, 2007 :: News
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that a missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic would contribute as a "stabilizing factor" for the region. The Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) propose for the area are designed to defend both Europe and the United States against small scale missile attack by future threats from countries like Iran.
Russia has expressed concern that the system would be a threat to its security. Russia's comments have in turn sparked unease in Europe, with France expressing concern about the system's effectiveness and Germany fearing it could start a new arms race. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier commented that although the United States should broaden its talks with Europe, the United States' need to protect itself against possible threats should be respected. (Article, Link)
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U.S. and Japan Plan New SM-3 Maintenance Base
December 6, 2006 :: News
The U.S. and Japan plan to build a joint base in the Nagasaki Prefecture for the maintenance of Standard Missile-3 interceptors, reports the UPI. According to sources in the Japanese Defense Agency, the facility would be located on a filled-in area off the coast near the U.S. Navy’s Hariojima ammunition depot in Sasebo. The U.S. and Japan would each maintain their own missiles, although the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF) would be able to ask the U.S. military for technical assistance if it encountered problems, allowing it to minimize costs. The SM-3, which the U.S. Navy and Japan’s MSDF plan to deploy on Aegis warships, is capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles in space at altitudes of 200 to 300 km. (Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Japan, Sea-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Freedman on the Future of British Deterrence
December 1, 2006 :: Financial Times :: Analysis
Nuclear deterrence should continue to play a role in Britain’s international affairs, argues Sir Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies and vice principal (research) at King’s College, London. “What is it about our current strategic environment that suggests that this is the time to abandon the deterrent?” Freedman asks in the Financial Times. “The obvious answer is ‘very little.’” He notes that Russia is in a “bad temper,” North Korea has demonstrated its nuclear capability, and Iran appears on the verge of acquiring its own. Despite the problem of how a full-blown British nuclear capability will deter suicidal sub-state organizations like Al-Qaeda, nuclear weapons continue to “make clear the horrific consequences of full-scale war or even a big miscalculation and so encourage states to resolve disputes without resort to armed force.” Freedman cites the case of India and Pakistan, in which the introduction of nuclear weapons into the conflict introduced a welcome element of caution. He notes, however, that some conflicts “may become so unstable that mutual deterrence will collapse and catastrophe will ensue, which is why proliferation is not to be encouraged.” Freedman, nevertheless, appears to agree with the British government’s position that “however difficult it is to imagine a plausible scenario where it would be necessary to threaten, let alone use, nuclear weapons, the future is horribly uncertain.” Nuclear weapons therefore remain “an essential insurance policy.” (Link)
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Japan Tests New SAM in Texas, with Anti-Cruise Missile Capability
December 1, 2006 :: AP :: News
Japan successfully tested a new surface-to-air missile system yesterday in a live training exercise, reports the AP. The system, known as the Chu-SAM, was test fired from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where Japanese forces have been training on their defensive missile systems. It had been tested six times previously at nearby White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, although Thursday’s launch was its first live training exercise. The Chu-SAM, manufactured by Mitsubishi Electronics, has a range of 50 km (31 miles) and is capable of shooting down aircraft, air-to-surface missiles, and cruise missiles. Up to 10 missiles can be fired from a single launcher to destroy multiple threats. The Chu-SAM will replace the HAWK missiles that Japanese defense forces have used since 1965. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Cruise Missile Defenses, Japan, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Four U.S. Aegis Ships to Gain SM-3 Interceptors
November 27, 2006 :: Kyodo :: News
The U.S. plans to install Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor on four of its Aegis-equipped warships deployed in Japan in an effort to boost regional missile defense following North Korea’s nuclear test. According to U.S. officials, two of the four ships will be refitted and deployed in the spring of 2007 at the earliest, followed by the other two. The plan would bring the total number of U.S. warships equipped with SM-3 interceptors to five. The cruiser Shiloh, which already has the system, was deployed to the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture in August 2006. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Russian General Condemns U.S. Missile Defense, Threatens “Retaliatory Measures”
October 18, 2006 :: MosNews :: News
A senior Russian general has stated that Russia would view the deployment of U.S. missile defense components in Eastern and Central Europe as a security threat and would take retaliatory measures. According to Yevgeny Buzhinsky, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s international military cooperation department, “the deployment of missile defense near the Russian borders could pose a real threat to our deterrent forces”—that is, Russia’s offensive nuclear arsenal. Buzhinsky, who published his comments yesterday in the Russian daily Izvestiya, added that “we would view [the deployment] as an unfriendly gesture on behalf of the United States, some eastern European nations, and NATO as a whole. Such actions would require taking adequate retaliatory measures of military and political character.” The Russian general did not elaborate on how Russia would respond to the deployment of U.S. missile defense assets in Poland or the Czech Republic, but warned that “a buildup of military potential near the Russian borders wouldn’t strengthen the European security.” (Article, Link)
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Senator: “We Canadians Need to Defend Ourselves”
October 13, 2006 :: Ottawa Citizen :: News
Canadian Senator Colin Kenny, chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defense, has written an op-ed in the Ottowa Citizen supporting ballistic missile defense cooperation with the U.S. “We Canadians need to defend ourselves,” he writes. “We should take advantage of what the Americans have to offer us in defending North America. We need to do that in our own national interest, not theirs.” Kenny asserts that participating in BMD would offer Canadians a “practical, cost-effective way of defending Canada.”
Noting that the U.S. system already has the potential to protect hundreds of thousands of Canadians from a rogue attack, he points out that “BMD is the closest we will ever come to a free lunch.” Yet the former Liberal government and the current Conservative government have both shied away from joining the U.S. missile defense program. “It boils down to this,” the Senator writes. “Joining BMD would undoubtedly hurt both parties’ chances of electoral success, particularly in Quebec. … As the arguments against ballistic missile defense fall away, we’re left with plain old anti-Americanism.” (Article, Link)
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Polish Daily: Romania and U.K. Supercede Poland in Missile Defense “Game”
October 11, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Poland has been superceded by Romania and the United Kingdom in the “game” for a new U.S. missile defense site, writes Eugeniusz Janula in the Polish daily Trybuna. “When one glances at a world atlas,” writes Janula, “there is not the slightest doubt that the most convenient location for an installation of this type is in the region of northern Norway or the U.K.’s Orkney or Shetland Islands.” From these locations, the U.S. could effectively intercept missiles coming in from the Middle East and South Asia, such as from Iran, as well as from the Kola Peninsula where Russia has deployed a considerable portion of its missile arsenal. Yet Norway declined and the U.K. likewise did not show much enthusiasm. So the U.S. began confidential talks with Poland and the Czech Republic. According to Janula, “the Czechs quickly realized that they were not the objective,” since a missile defense base built on their territory would not have “universal application.” In the case of Poland, “the Americans might discuss many things, but they would never consent to any control over such an important base,” and thus “Poland has dropped out of the game.” Janula claims that the U.S. now plans to set up a “small, temporary base with 8-10 semi-stationary launchers” in Romania, which will serve as a purely anti-Iranian installation. More importantly, he writes, the U.K. has revised its stance and will now make the Orkney Islands accessible for a “second base of universal application.” For this, the British will obtain “state-of-the-art nuclear submarine technologies, the naval version of the F-35 plane which will supplant the Harriers on British aircraft carriers, as well as other technological benefits.” (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
