Carafano: U.S. Should Help Israel Deploy Directed-Energy Defenses
September 23, 2006 :: The Heritage Foundation :: Analysis
The U.S. should help Israel deploy anti-rocket defense using available, proven, directed-energy technologies in less than two years, argues James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation. He notes that the two nations have already jointly developed a short-range laser system, the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL), but chose not to deploy it. Instead, the Pentagon decided to invest its resources in more advanced directed-energy research that would lead to more mobile systems that could be quickly shifted around the battlefield. Yet prototypes for these new systems will not be available until at least 2013, during which Hezbollah could rearm and instigate another war a half-dozen times. “Congress has an opportunity to jump-start the process by including the necessary funding in the annual defense appropriations bill, but so far, it has let the opportunity pass,” writes Carafano. “The Pentagon doesn’t want the proven directed-energy defenses—an attitude that clearly proves the old adage that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Waiting for futuristic technology won’t help deter war in the Middle East, but deploying a directed-energy defense now will take the threat of rocket wars off the table.” In addition to defending all of Israel’s borders, these systems could be used by the U.S. to defend against short-range missile attacks on commercial aircraft or protect critical infrastructure like nuclear power plants. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Analysis, High Energy Defenses, Israel, Terrorism
» Missile system details for: Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL)
SAIC-led Consortium Wins $95 Million NATO Missile Defense Contract
September 18, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
NATO has awarded a $95 million contract to an international consortium led by U.S.-based Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to integrate the Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) currently being developed in Europe. The project will network existing and future national missile defense systems, sensors, battle management and command, control, and communications systems. The total cost for NATO is expected to be $823 million, while the cost of individual weapons systems to be bought separately by national governments is expected to be much higher. The SAIC-led consortium also includes Raytheon from the U.S., Thales of France, IABG and Diehl from Germany, Britain’s Qinetiq, the Dutch company TNO, DATAMAT from Italy, and the European satellite giant EADS Asterism. (Article, Link)
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Poland Wants U.S. Pact in Exchange for Missile Silos
September 13, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
Poland wants a bilateral pact and improved air defenses in exchange for becoming the first missile defense site outside the U.S., reports Reuters. According to Polish Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who spoke today to a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Poland has to be persuaded that the benefits of hosting a U.S. missile defense site outweigh potential risks such as becoming a greater target. “I would need to go in front of parliament and say, well, why overall it’s a good package,” Sikorski said, noting that any such package would have to include a bilateral pact and improved air defenses. The U.S. has favored multilateral defense pacts in recent decades, although it maintains a few bilateral treaties, including with Japan and South Korea. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
Taiwan Indicates PAC-3 Purchase
September 13, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Ex-Premier Yu Shyi-kun, chairman of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, held talks with Bush administration officials yesterday and assured them that a much-delayed deal to purchase U.S. weapons would be approved by the new Taiwanese legislature. “I really have much greater confidence that during the next session when the [legislature] reconvenes [September 19], it will be passed,” Yu told a news conference after the White House meeting, quoted by the AFP. He did not give any details of the package, although Taiwan’s 2006 National Defense Report called for the purchase of six Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air/missile defense systems, as well as eight conventional submarines and 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft for a price of around 340 billion Taiwan dollars ($10.8 billion). In July, Beijing warned Washington not to proceed with the reported deal, indicating such weapons sales would impact regional security and harm U.S.-Chinese relations. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)
Lockheed Martin Reports Major Foreign Interest in PAC-3 Upgrades
September 5, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Lockheed Martin is in “serious discussions” with Turkey and other customers over Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) upgrades, reports the September 6 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. According to John Ward, vice president of international business development for Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control Unit, concerns over Iran and North Korea may lead to new international orders for the PAC-3 and other missile defense systems. “Just about every region in the Middle East [and] Pac [Pacific] Rim has serious enquiries going on for the missile,” he said. (Link)
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» Missile system details for: Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)
Japan Considers Sharp Rise in Missile Defense Spending
August 30, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Japan’s Defense Agency yesterday requested a more than 50 percent increase in its missile defense budget, reports the AFP. The article quotes an official in the Liberal Democratic Party, who stated that the agency has requested 219 billion yen ($1.87 billion) for missiles defenses, up 56.5 percent from the current year. The increased budget is mainly to pay for the early deployment of more Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missiles, but also includes costs for Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors for Aegis-equipped U.S. warships as well as advanced radars and joint research and development with the U.S. on missile interceptors. Japan is moving forward with efforts to build a joint missile defense system with the U.S. following North Korea’s July 5 test launch of seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including a long-range Taep’o-dong-2. The LDP official notes that the Defense Agency’s proposed total budget for fiscal year 2007 is up 1.5 percent from the current term to 4.86 trillion yen ($4.2 billion). (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Budget, Japan
» Missile system details for: Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Japan Launches Sixth Aegis Warship
August 30, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Japan today launched its sixth Aegis destroyer, the Ashigara, which will be fitted with anti-missile capabilities next year. The AFP reports that the Ashigara, the heaviest of Japan’s Aegis destroyers, was put to sea from the southwestern port city of Nagasaki amid fears over a possible North Korean missile attack. The Japanese warship will be equipped with U.S.-designed Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors throughout next year, according to a spokesman for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces. The Ashigara joins the U.S.S. Shiloh guided-missile cruiser, the first U.S. warship to be deployed in Japan with the capability to shoot down short- and medium-range missiles, which arrived yesterday at the U.S. naval base of Yokosuka south of Tokyo. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Deployment, Japan
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
First Aegis Cruiser Arrives in Japan
August 29, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
The U.S.S. Shiloh, the first missile defense-capable ship to be deployed in Japan, arrived in the port of Yokosuka today. The Shiloh is armed with the Aegis combat system, including Standard Missile-3 interceptors capable of shooting down medium-range ballistic missiles in mid-flight. Its deployment is a symbolic step in a joint U.S.-Japanese missile defense alliance to shield Japan and the region from missile attack. A second line of defense is to commence in September, when the U.S. military will begin installing Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors at its Kadena Air Base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper immediately condemned the U.S.-Japanese deployment, stating that “the scheme of the U.S. war-thirsty quarters to deploy dense MD [missile defense] networks in the U.S. mainland, Japan, and the Pacific reveals their wild ambition to rule the world by strength.” (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
U.S. Considers Second Mobile X-Band Radar for Japan
August 23, 2006 :: Kyodo :: News
Kyodo reports that the U.S. is considering the deployment of a second mobile X-band radar in the Western Pacific in response to North Korea’s firing of ballistic missile last month. The article quotes an unnamed Pentagon official who said that four candidate sites for the second radar are Kyushu and Okinawa in southern Japan, as well as South Korea and Guam. The official added that the second radar would be located in the southern part of the region in an attempt to expand the scope of tracking North Korean missiles in combination with the first mobile X-band radar system already deployed in Aomori in northern Japan. The Aomori radar was deployed as part of a U.S.-Japan agreement in May on realigning U.S. forces in Japan. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Japan, Detection and Tracking
» Missile system details for: Forward-Based X-Band Radar-Transportable, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Czech Petition Supports U.S. Missile Defense
August 22, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
The Czech news agency CTK reports that an internet petition supporting a U.S. missile defense base in the Czech Republic has appeared on the prozakladnu.cz website. The petition warns of missile threats emanating from radical Islamic states and North Korea, and points out that the Czech Republic knows from its experience how difficult it is to stand up to the aggression of totalitarian states. “It is therefore important to join efforts aimed at the protection against them and allow our allies to station part of the joint defense missile system on our territory,” the petition says. “It is necessary to have a good defense system for the event of an attack.” (Article, Link)
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