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U.S. Missile Defense Interceptor Deployment Delays Do Not Spell End for Program, Defense Officials Say
Despite delays in missile interceptor deployments, the U.S. missile defense program is moving forward, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, Oct. 7, 2005). There are now six interceptors installed at Fort Greely in Alaska and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Up to 10 interceptors were to have been deployed at Fort Greely last year, but only two were put in place, AP reported. The Missile Defense Agency director, Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, decided to temporarily delay further deployment on the advice of two independent panels, said agency officials. “The review groups recommended that more interceptors be made available for both ground and flight testing, and this is the reason why only two interceptors were deployed at Fort Greely,” said agency spokesman Rick Lehner. “More will be deployed in 2006 and 2007,” Lehner said. “But for operational security reasons the Defense Department will no longer divulge how many interceptors are deployed, only that it is in excess of 10.” Ten was not a set count of interceptors to be installed during 2005, but rather a maximum possible number, said Alaska-based agency spokesman Army Maj. Eric Maxon. “There’s no rigid timeline for those remaining interceptors. There never has been,” he said. Retired Army Gen. Bill Nance, a member of one of the review panels, said the agency is considering seriously the panels’ recommendations for additional testing. “I think this system is going to work,” Nance said. Critics, however, have pointed out that the Missile Defense Agency is significantly behind schedule in testing, and that the missile shield is unlikely to be fully operational for decades, according to AP (Rachel D’Oro, Associated Press/Inside Bay Area, Jan. 6).
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