|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
U.S. Plans to Deploy Missile Interceptors Ahead of Schedule
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency plans to deploy its national missile defense ahead of schedule by activating its first missile interceptors this summer in Alaska, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Jan. 27). President George W. Bush had set Sept. 30 as the deadline to field 10 missile interceptors at Ft. Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., but officials have said they now expect to begin loading the interceptors into Alaskan silos in May or June. The interceptors are part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, a system intended to defend the entire United States from a limited missile attack. The early deployment plan was disclosed as the Bush administration submitted it fiscal 2005 budget proposal, which includes a request for more than $10 billion for missile defenses, up from $9.1 billion in current funding, according to the Post. Flight-testing of the interceptors has been delayed and the first tests to determine if the interceptors in their latest configuration can destroy a mock warhead are currently scheduled for May and June (see GSN, Oct. 31, 2003), meaning the interceptors in Alaska might be placed on active alert even before test results are fully analyzed. Earlier testing, however, has given officials enough confidence to move ahead with the deployment, according to the Post. Earlier versions of the missile interceptors destroyed their targets in five out of eight tests. “We have seen nothing in terms of a showstopper that would prevent us from putting the system on alert,” a senior military officer said. The new schedule calls for continuing to place the missile interceptors in their silos through the summer and into January, while the missile tracking radar is expected to come into service in July, enabling the whole system to go on alert, the Post reported. The system’s readiness was called into question last month when the U.S. Defense Department’s top testing official said he would not be able to assess the effectiveness of the program without more testing (see GSN, Jan. 22). Program officials, however, said that deploying an incomplete system still offered some protection. “If we could have some capability, we’d be negligent not to put it out as early as we could,” said the senior military officer (Bradley Graham, Washington Post, Feb. 2).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
