NATO Panel Endorses Missile Defense Study

A report supporting the technical feasibility of operating a ballistic missile defense system across the NATO countries last week received the backing of an alliance expert panel, Inside the Pentagon reported (see GSN, Feb. 17).

A trans-Atlantic industry team submitted its document on the technical aspects of a missile defense program to the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency last summer. NATO’s National Armament Directors Conference, a group of defense acquisition chiefs, in late April agreed to submit its final report and an executive summary of the study for consideration by the North Atlantic Council, sources in Brussels said.

The study indicates that a missile defense system designed to protect population centers in Europe is technically possible, sources said this week.

Participants in last week’s meeting said, “a clear definition of the political dimension of (missile defense) was required,” according to documents.

The industry report included a section on “debris management,” according to Inside the Pentagon. Debris from intercepts could endanger population centers, according to the report (Sebastian Sprenger, Inside the Pentagon, May 4).

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