United States:  U.S. Air Force Says It Found, Destroyed Scud Missile

A U.S. pilot claimed to have attacked and destroyed an Iraqi Scud missile at the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, Aviation Week reported yesterday (see GSN, March 28).

U.S. Air Force Capt. Mary Melfi, an F-15E weapons officer, was directed to a target “and it happened to be a Scud,” she said.

Melfi said the target was not in western Iraq, where Iraq could have positioned missiles to be fired toward Israel.

About five hours into a patrol mission, Melfi sighted the missile and asked permission from her controllers to attack it.

“I told them what I was seeing,” she said.  “It was a (Scud) launcher,” she added.

The attack was reportedly successful.

“It was a pretty big explosion.  The intelligence folks looked at my tape and assessed it as being one of the Scuds,” Melfi added (David Fulghum, Aviation Week, April 7).

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United States:  Patriot System Shoots Down U.S. Navy Jet

A U.S. Patriot missile defense system most likely shot down a U.S. Navy jet flying a combat mission over Iraq Wednesday, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, April 3).

The Navy F/A-18C Hornet was based on the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and was shot down over Karbala in central Iraq, according to military officials.

“The wingman saw what happened,” said a Navy officer.  “They both saw the missile coming right at them and both took evasive action,” the officer added.

A Patriot missile shot down a British Tornado aircraft March 22.

Military investigators will look into Wednesday’s incident to “see if it was a breakdown in our techniques or our procedures or if there was a technical breakdown that we have to shore up,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Patriot is a U.S. Army system, and Navy officials were reportedly upset that the Patriot had been fired at an aircraft.

“Iraq hasn’t even been flying its planes,” the Navy officer said (Bradley Graham, Washington Post, April 4).

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Japan:  Tokyo Wants Missile Defense Upgrade, Could Buy PAC-3s

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said yesterday that Tokyo should consider upgrading the nation’s missile defenses, possibly by acquiring Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile defense systems (see GSN, April 3).

“I expect lawmakers close to defense policy and (officials of) the Defense Agency to thoroughly discuss,” the threat of North Korean missiles, Koizumi said (Japan Times, April 4).

Japan currently has 27 PAC-2 missile defense batteries around the country.

Japanese defense chief Shigeru Ishiba said he “aggressively” supports a stronger missile defense and that buying the advanced Patriots is an option.  North Korea has deployed 100 Rodong ballistic missiles within range of Japan, he said.

“We need to discuss how much (the system) would cost and how they would fit into the different services in the Self-Defense Forces,” he said.

Ishiba also said that Japan has the right to an offensive military strike if another country intends to attack Japan.  Japan’s post-World War II constitution does not allow for offensive military operations.

“Japan’s Self-Defense Law allows for Japan to mobilize forces when facing an urgent and unjust attack,” Ishiba said.  “Japan may also mobilize forces when there is a threat of attack,” he added.

Japanese forces, however, are not prepared for such a strike, Ishiba said.

“Japan does not have the ability to attack a foreign enemy base,” according to Ishiba.  “Japan entrusts the might of the United States to do that,” he added (Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press, April 4).

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Japan:  Tokyo Considering PAC-3 Use

Japan could add the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptor to its armed forces by fiscal 2004, high-ranking members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 11, 2002).

Acquiring the PAC-3 would improve on Japan’s current capability, consisting of the PAC-2 interceptor currently used by the Air Self-Defense Force, according to the Asahi Shimbun.  One advantage of the PAC-3 is that it would be able to intercept North Korean Nodong ballistic missiles, which are too fast for the PAC-2 to shoot down, the Shimbun reported.

The PAC-3 interceptor would also help Japan improve its negotiation position in the current conflict over North Korea’s resumed nuclear activities, party sources said.  They added, however, that Japan still seeks a peaceful resolution to the issue (Asahi Shimbun, April 3).

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today called on defense experts to examine upgrading Japan’s missile defense capabilities.  “I expect lawmakers close to the defense policy and (officials of) the Defense Agency to discuss thoroughly” how to respond to the growing threat of North Korean missiles, Koizumi said (BBC Monitoring, April 3).

For further information, see:

PAC-3 Fact Sheet

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United States:  Patriot Operator Unsure What Caused Friendly Fire Incident

A British military aircraft, shot down March 23 by a Patriot missile battery, should have appeared as a “T” on U.S. radar screens, the Boston Globe reported yesterday (see GSN, Apr. 2).

The radar designation “T” represents “true friend” and should have prevented the intercept, according to U.S. Chief Warrant Officer Gregory Talbott, a Patriot operator who has not yet seen action.

Talbott said he does not know why the system failed.

“It’s best to give the crew the benefit of the doubt,” he said.

U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait, operating the Patriot missile defense system, monitor a green radar screen 24 hours a day for any incoming threats, the Globe reported yesterday.

The screen displays a Scud missile as an inverted triangle and enemy aircraft as a “U,” an “O,” or a diamond (Anne Barnard, Boston Globe, April 2).

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United States:  Patriot Intercepts al-Samoud Fired at U.S. Troops

A U.S. Patriot missile interceptor shot down an al-Samoud missile fired at U.S. forces in Iraq today, the New York Times reported (see GSN, March 18).

A Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile hit the al-Samoud 2 over a U.S. Army assembly area.  The debris from the intercept landed around members of the 82nd Airborne Division (Michael Gordon, New York Times, Apr. 2).

Monday, U.S. Marines found two al-Samoud 2 missiles hidden in an Iraqi farming village, the New York Post reported.

The missiles were hidden under a tarpaulin, according to the Post.

The two missiles were marked for destruction by weapons inspectors at the Taji Technical Battalion camp Feb. 20, according to U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission spokesman Ewen Buchanan (Morris/Kranes, New York Post, Apr. 2).

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Israel:  Missile Alert to Continue for Two More Weeks

A senior Israeli official today said the country will remain on full missile attack alert for two more weeks, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, March 28).

“The state of alert in the country over fears of an Iraqi attack will remain in force for at least a further two weeks,” Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz yesterday said the alert would be reviewed only after the possibility of an Iraqi missile attack had passed.

Two elderly Israeli sisters suffocated this week in a sealed room, which was prepared in the case of a chemical or biological weapons attack from Iraq.  Last month three members of another family also died in similar circumstances (see GSN, March 18; James Hider, Agence France-Presse, April 2).

An Israeli defense official, meanwhile, said Israeli forces are not involved in the current Iraqi conflict.

Some media reports have indicated that Israeli forces are deployed in western Iraq to prevent missile attacks (see GSN, Oct. 18, 2002).

“Western Iraq is an enormous area.  The United States has promised to remove this threat, and therefore American forces and others are operating there to the best of their abilities,” said Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, senior Israeli Army spokesman on civil defense.  “There are no Israelis.  The United States does not want Israelis in this war, and Israel has declared that it is not part of the war, and had acted accordingly,” he added (Ha’aretz, Apr. 2).

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