U.S. Navy to Deploy Aegis Destroyers in Sea of Japan

The U.S. Navy is expected to deploy Aegis destroyers to patrol the Sea of Japan by the end of next week as a component of the U.S. missile defenses, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 16).

The ships, assigned to the Navy’s 7th Fleet, are part of a system designed to detect and intercept missiles launched by “rogue nations,” according to AP.

“We are on track,” Vice Adm. Jonathan Greenert, commander of the 7th Fleet, said Wednesday. “We will be ready to conduct the mission when assigned.” (Eric Talmadge, Associated Press/Seattle Times, Sept. 26).

The ships are to watch for missile attacks and send data to land-based interceptors in Alaska, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday.

Critics of the program have said the Defense Department has exaggerated the capability of the missile-defense system.

“It’s a little bit like testing a new military aircraft without the wings, tail and landing gear,” said Philip Coyle, formerly the Pentagon’s top testing official and now a senior adviser at the Center for Defense Information.

“That’s not the fault of Aegis,” which Coyle said can be effective against shorter-range missiles. “Too many other important pieces are missing,” including a floating radar expected to be installed on a platform off the Alaska coast.

Retired Rear Adm. Wayne Meyer disagreed, saying the Aegis system had shot down four of five intercontinental ballistic missiles in tests since 2002. A failed intercept in June 2003 was caused by a problem with the intercepting missile, not the Aegis system, Meyer added (see GSN, June 19, 2003).

Critics said none of the tests were conducted under realistic conditions.

“It all remains to be seen if it will function as they hope it will,” said Wade Boese, research director at the Arms Control Association in Washington.

The next test of the Aegis system is scheduled for early next year, according to the Missile Defense Agency (Harold Brubaker, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 26).

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