The Huntsville Times April 3, 2009
North Korea launch may put focus on local missile defense
By Shelby G. Spires
Rocket missile defense saber-rattling between Japan and North Korea could focus attention on Huntsville-based missile interceptor programs, defense experts predict.
The launch of what North Korea claims is a satellite-carrying rocket, could come as early as Saturday, and North Korean technicians appeared to be fueling it early Thursday, according to Pentagon reports.
Huntsville-based missile defense programs, such as the Kinetic Energy Interceptor booster, are in development to counter potential threats just after launch, but those have been delayed because of budget cuts and priority shifts within the Pentagon.
There are concerns North Korea is using the launch to develop offensive missiles that could threaten Japan, America or its allies, missile defense experts claim.
Over the past few days, Japan has threatened to shoot down any stages or debris that might strike its mainland islands, which are close to the launch site.
"But they don't, nobody does really, have the capability to shoot down the rocket in flight" during its launch phase, said Riki Ellison, a missile defense expert and booster. "They can only shoot down the stages or debris with the systems they have. That's a pretty expensive shot for them, too."
Japan has deployed its advanced missile defense destroyers, and U.S. Navy ships are in place to monitor a possible launch, according to the Pentagon.
Ellison said the launch could reinvigorate debate on missile defense as a whole "and certainly shift thoughts about the Kinetic Energy Interceptor along with the way ground based programs are managed, also."
Members of Congress, including Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have sent letters to the White House asking that missile defense programs not be targeted for drastic cuts.
"There's the possibility that missile defense is going to get a budget haircut when the White House rolls out its defense proposals this month," said John Pike, a missile defense expert with GlobalSecurity.org. "A North Korea launch could shift the debate on those programs. ?It has in the past."
North Korean launches in 1998 and 2006 alarmed world leaders and led to increases in missile defense programs. The 2006 launch failed because the rocket sat on the pad too long with super-cold rocket fuel.
"That could happen again if North Korea waits too long," Ellison said. "They waited 18 days to launch, and I think this time around they will launch much sooner."
Huntsville is home to a majority of the Missile Defense Agency development, testing and management of current and proposed missile defense systems.
More than 10,000 North Alabama federal and contractor jobs are tied to these programs, which range from the almost three-decades-old Patriot interceptors to advanced sea-based Navy systems and newer ground-based interceptors designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles.
Work on the advanced missile interceptor program has been on-and-off over the past five years. Northrop Grumman, the lead contractor on the program, announced in late 2003 that more than 700 North Alabama jobs were planned when the program hit full development. Less than 100 people now work on the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program, and the program is under review by the Obama administration for possible further delays.
© Copyright 2009, The Huntsville Times
