North Korean Threat Renews Interest in U.S. Missile Defense
21 June 2006
Technological progress, international partnerships growing around project
Washington – Reports that North Korea is preparing to test a new ballistic missile has renewed interest in U.S. progress towards an effective, integrated missile defense system, as well as the expanding umbrella of international partnerships that are contributing to the project’s success.
The U.S. missile defense program is a combination of systems that find, target and destroy ballistic missiles in any of their three flight periods – the initial boost phase, the midcourse phase and the descent phase – from defenses arrayed on the ground, at sea or in the air.
Not yet fully functional, these systems have been under development for many years, presenting engineers with the complex challenge of integrating computer, radar and missile systems in an effort commonly compared to “hitting a bullet with another bullet.” The system currently includes 11 long-range interceptor missiles; nine deployed at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
In May 10 congressional testimony, Air Force Lieutenant General Henry “Trey” Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said that the United States and key partners are working to expand the existing umbrella of defensive coverage to prevent the United States and its allies from being coerced or threatened by ballistic missiles that could be carrying a weapon of mass destruction. (See related article.)
Over the past two decades, the United States has appropriated more than $100 billion to the agency to lead the development of ballistic missile defenses, an average of $4.7 billion a year. For 2006, Congress provided the Missile Defense Agency $7.8 billion in funding; the agency is requesting $9.3 billion for the fiscal year that begins October 1. The increase, said Obering, is due to “the robust phase we are entering in the development and fielding of the integrated layered capability.” (See related article.)
This year has seen several advances in missile defense, including three successful ground-based missile interceptor tests in New Mexico and Hawaii, as well as the successful takedown of a ballistic missile by a ship-based interceptor system installed on the Navy Aegis warship, the USS Lake Erie. Similar ships, equipped with sensors to detect a possible launch reportedly are patrolling in international waters off North Korea’s coast.
The Missile Defense Agency says that another test currently under way off the coast of Hawaii has been scheduled for a long time and is not related to the tension with North Korea.
Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner told Voice of America June 21 the Hawaiian exercise will not even test the type of interceptor that would be used if North Korea ever launched a missile at the United States. According to a statement by the agency, this will be the first test of an improved version of its interceptor missile, which it says is scheduled for operational deployment aboard U.S. Navy ships later in 2006.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN MISSILE DEFENSE GROWING
In an April 4 speech sponsored by National Defense University, Paula DeSutter, assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance and implementation, said that international support continues to grow for missile defense, as evidenced by ongoing projects in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, Russia and elsewhere to develop various components of the missile defense system. (See related article.)
A number of NATO allies that already deploy the Patriot missile system are interested in expanding their engagement in anti-ballistic missile defense. Plans are under way to integrate a missile defense battle management command-and-control system in Europe and the Middle East, similar to the integrated network of sensors and interceptors developed for the Pacific area.
With its $1 billion commitment, Japan has become the United States’ largest international partner in missile defense.
The Japanese government has been engaged in joint research with the United States since 1999, has contributed to the design of interceptor missiles and is currently working to install an X-band radar, a key component of a future missile defense system, to protect both countries from a possible ballistic missile attack. The United States and Japan also have agreed to work together to develop a more capable sea-based interceptor that would improve the defense of both nations. (See related article.)
According to press reports, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer June 21 said the United States has, “greater technical means of tracking [missiles] than in the past and we have options that we have not had in the past, and all those options are on the table.” (See related article.)
But the U.S. Department of Defense has declined to comment on media reports that it has activated the system under development for use against a possible North Korean launch.
“We don’t discuss any kind of alert status,” said Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff June 20. “We have a limited missile defense system. It’s in the development phase. But that’s about all we really discuss,” he said.
For more information, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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