European Missile Defence

[RPK]

Russia welcomes U.S. move to scrap missile plans for Europe IDRW.ORG

Russia welcomes reports of a U.S. decision to abandon its missile defense plans for Central Europe, and is waiting for official confirmation on the issue, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“We are waiting for the reports to be confirmed. Such a development would be in line with the interests of our relations with the United States,” a ministry press officer told RIA Novosti.
Russia’s Vesti news channel cited Czech media earlier on Thursday as saying that President Barack Obama told Czech Premier Jan Fischer on the telephone late last night that Washington is abandoning the Bush administration’s plans for an anti-missile radar in the country.Czech officials confirmed the telephone conversation, the reports said. Prague is expected to issue a statement on the matter later on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal cited sources close to the issue as saying the U.S. government will shelve plans for the radar on Czech soil, as well as an interceptor missile base in Poland. The planned anti-missile system has been fiercely opposed by Moscow.
The Czech news agency CTK said a U.S. delegation led by Ellen Tauscher, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, will arrive in Prague for talks later today. The diplomat’s visit to Prague follows a trip to Warsaw.
The WSJ said the U.S. decision to scrap the plans are based on an assessment that Iran’s long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the U.S. and Europe’s major cities.
Moscow views the planned anti-missile system as a national security threat, upsetting the strategic balance of forces.
The paper cited current and former U.S. officials as saying that the administration is expected to leave open the option of restarting the Polish and Czech system if Iran makes advances in its long-range missiles in the future.
The decision, a major reversal from the line aggressively pursued by the George W. Bush administration, is seen by many critics as a gesture to win Russian cooperation with U.S.-led efforts to impose new sanctions on Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program, the paper said.
The move is also likely to raise concerns in Europe, where officials have been alarmed by the White House’s effort to “reset” ties with Moscow, the WSJ said.

 

[RPK]

fullstory

Obama shelves Bush-era missile shield plan, unveils new one

Washington, Sep 17 (PTI) US President Barack Obama today scrapped a controversial Bush regime missile defence plan for Eastern Europe - a key irritant in US-Russian ties - and unveiled a new system which will offer "greater defences" against the threat of possible missile attacks from Iran.

The White House said the new missile defence system for Eastern Europe, which is based on fresh threat and intelligence assessment, would start deployment around 2011 and will be ending in 2020 in four phases.

The "phased, adaptive approach" will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems and will be more effective than the 2007 defence programme, offering "greater defences", Obama said at a hurriedly-convened White House press meet.

Obama said his decision is guided by updated intelligence assessment of Iran's missile programmes, which emphasises the threat posed by its short-and-medium-range missiles, capable of reaching Europe.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/weekinreview/20marsh.html

The Twists and Turns of Missile Defense

By BILL MARSH
Published: September 19, 2009

Few were indifferent to President Obama’s cancellation last week of a plan by his predecessor to put defenses against intercontinental ballistic missiles, presumably from Iran, in Eastern Europe. From Republicans, there was fury. From Russia’s leaders, praise. From critics who see its replacement as costly, unnecessary and unreliable, disappointment.

The president’s defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, had supported the plan while serving George W. Bush. But new intelligence, he said, led him to a different conclusion: Iran poses a more immediate threat to neighbors and parts of Europe with shorter-range missiles, a threat that should be countered quickly and from sites closer to Iran.

The Bush plan had its roots in Ronald Reagan’s vision for a space-based defense against missiles — dubbed “Star Wars” by critics — that collapsed under the weight of its myriad technical challenges.

Star Wars evolved into an earthbound system that exists today in Alaska and California, a multibillion dollar answer to a potential attack by North Korea. An update of that installation, in Poland and the Czech Republic, would have taken nearly a decade to complete.

Skeptics remain legion, not least because the existing sites have a spotty history of performance in testing. Advocates have faith in eventual technical success and say that the European plan was also a bulwark against potential Russian adventurism, recalling last year’s battles in Georgia.

Here are highlights of the Bush plan, and the one President Obama is putting in its place.

 

[RPK]

Russia, US could deploy joint missile shield against Iran

Moscow: Russia and the US could deploy a joint missile shield to protect Europe from Iranian long-range missiles in future, a former Russian general has said.

"Russia and the US could jointly turn to this topic again in the future if Iran gets such a weapon (long-range ballistic missile), but this won't happen until at least 2015," Col Gen (retd) Viktor Yesin said.


Gen Yesin, who served as chief of staff of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces from 1991-1993, was commenting on US President Barack Obama's decision to drop plans to deploy a radar system in the Czech Republic and a missile base in Poland due to a re-assessment of the threat from Iran.

The short- and medium-range missiles that Iran now possesses have a speed of not more than 4.5 km/sec and could be effectively destroyed by a non-strategic missile system, Gen Yesin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

Moscow was viewing the previous missile defence shield plans adopted by Bush administration as a threat to its second strike capability, which was instrumental in averting a nuclear showdown at the height of Cold War.

 

[StealthSniper]

The European missile defence is a bad move by the Americans. They say it is to keep defence against Iran, and they may be right. But If Russia deployed missle defence in Cuba for any particular reason then the Americans will start whining. If Russia launched a missile of course that same "missle shield" based in poland can destroy their missile so why shouldn't they be mad. The Americans I think are the aggressors and they don't have enough respect for any country unless it's for their best interest. At least Obama scraped the missile sheild but I think the Russian have woken up and are wary of the US.

 

[RPK]

fullstory

US must reach out to Russia on missile defence: Obama

Washington, Sep 30 (AFP) 0President Barack Obama has said it was important to work with Russia on a new generation missile shield, following his abandonment of an earlier US system that Moscow opposed, in Eastern Europe.

His comments came hours after Russia yesterday asked for guarantees from Washington that the new plan, targeting Iranian short- and medium- range missiles, would not threaten its own security.

"It is important for us to reach out to Russia and explore ways in which the missile defence configurations that we envision could potentially lead to further collaboration," Obama said after talks with NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"We want to improve generally not only US-Russian relations, but also NATO-Russian relations, while making absolutely clear that our commitments to all of our allies in NATO is sacrosanct," Obama said.

 

[RPK]

defence.professionals | defpro.com

Russia' NATO envoy says U.S. could deploy missile shield in Arctic region

The U.S. missile defense program is becoming less predictable with missile shield elements deployed in the Arctic as the worst-case scenario, Russia's envoy to NATO told the Vesti 24 channel according to RIA Novosti.

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that Washington would not deploy its missile shield elements in Central Europe, due to a re-assessment of the threat from Iran. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday he decided against deploying Iskander missiles in Russia's Kaliningrad Region, near Poland.

"We knew for sure that there will be ten interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in Czech Republic, and that we will have our Iskander [missiles] in the Kaliningrad Region... now the U.S. missile elements are to be based on U.S. cruisers, and you can never tell where they will be tomorrow," he said.

He added that the reduction of sea ice in Arctic due to climate change could lead to the all-year-round opening of the Northern Sea Route, is a shipping lane running along Russia's Far Eastern and Siberian coasts that is usually only free of ice for around eight weeks a year.

"The ice would retreat, it would melt, which means that NATO would definitely be present in the Arctic. They have been planning it for a long time, and under the very bad circumstances the U.S. strategic missile defense would arrive there onboard these ships," Rogozin said.

In his interview Rogozin also said that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) could send it representative to Russia's NATO mission to boost anti-terrorism cooperation with the alliance.

"FSB... is charged with anti-terrorism issues, they would have their own official contacts with appropriate NATO structures," Rogozin said.

In his interview he also praised NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's efforts to improve relations with Russia.

 

[Patriot]

Russia deploys S-300 missile systems in Abkhazia

MOSCOW (PTI): Russia Wednesday said it had deployed its potent S-300 air defence missile systems in Georgia's self declared independent province of Abkhazia, infuriating its arch foes in Tbilisi, which sees it as threat to regional stability and NATO.

"We have deployed the S-300 systems in Abkhazia to protect its and South Ossetian airspace in conjunction with other air defence weapons deployed by the Land Forces," Russian Air Chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin was quoted as saying by the Russian agencies.

He said that the air defence assets deployed in the two breakaway Georgian republics will also help to prevent any violation of Russian airspace and destroy any airborne "intruders" regardless of their purpose.

Gen. Zelin did not specify the number and type of the S-300 missile system deployed in Abkhazia.

S-300 air defence missile systems.

"The deployment of this class of air defence systems is not only aimed against Georgia, it also changes the balance of forces in the region," Georgia's State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

Yakobashvili declared that Russia's actions were also aimed against US-led NATO and said Georgia would protest the S-300 deployment in international organisations.

After five-day war with Georgia in response to its re-establish control over the two breakaway regions in August 2008, Russia recognised independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and inked treaties to set up military bases in the former Georgian republics.

The two Russian military bases are located in Gudauta, Abkhazia and in South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali.

Each base is likely to host up to 1700 servicemen, T-62 tanks, light armoured vehicles, air defence systems and various aircraft.

Tbilisi considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia as "Russian occupied territories".





http://www.brahmand.com/news/Russia-deploys-S-300-missile-systems-in-Abkhazia/4697/1/10.html

 

[Patriot]

NATO Missile Defenses Need Investment

Sep 8, 2010

By Amy Butler

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says his staff estimates that an alliance-wide territorial missile defense system would cost about €200 million ($245 million) over the next 10 years.

This is above the €800 million ($1.2 billion) investment already required to field theater missile defenses designed to protect deployed troops.

Rasmussen says the funding required is a "modest additional cost to achieve so much." He spoke with U.S. press during a Defense Writers Group breakfast Sept. 7 in Washington.

A decision on whether and how to proceed on missile defense will be on the agenda during the forthcoming NATO summit in Lisbon in November. Rasmussen says that because of the shared potential enemy of Iran, NATO's deployments of technology would be needed in line with the timeline laid out by U.S. President Barack Obama. He has proposed the Phased Adaptive Approach, which is incrementally fielding defenses through 2020. SM-3s already are being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. The SM-3 Block IB, with improved divert-and-attitude-control systems and a new seeker, will be in place around 2015. Land-based elements of this system also will be deployed by then. In 2018, the larger 21-in. SM-3 Block IIA is expected to provide longer range for defenses, and finally a so-called SM-3 Block IIB will be in place around 2020 to function as an ICBM killer.

Rasmussen did not specify which technologies NATO would need to buy. But the U.S. equipment would be an "input" into the NATO system, he says.

He also hopes that Russia will take up a forthcoming invitation to participate in the NATO missile defense system.

Photo: MDA

 

[Patriot]

NATO Seeks To Boost Its Missile Defense | AVIATION WEEK

The next two months could be critical in helping to shape NATO's ambition to make missile defense one of its core missions.

This topic has evolved gradually, having once been an area that several member states wanted to avoid altogether. But then NATO began to pursue efforts to protect deployed forces.Now the question is whether NATO's role should grow further and encompass ballistic missile defense of all members' territory.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as well as a group advising the alliance on its strategic direction, maintains that territorial missile defense should become part of the organization's mission. For critics, the move is seen as merely a NATO ploy for relevance in the new strategic security environment.

What members finally decide should be known soon, since clearly defining NATO's role is slated to be a major agenda item at next month's summit in Lisbon.

Program advocates are hopeful the alliance will approve expanding the mandate to territorial from theater missile defense, although several industry officials doubt that such a commitment will emerge. Given budget constraints at the member-state level and the difficulties the alliance has had in tackling the theater missile defense mandate, the most likely outcome will be a two-year study to buy time, the officials say.

Last month, Rasmussen told reporters in Washington that the cost of upgrading NATO's task to territorial from theater defense would be modest, amounting to no more than €200 million ($268 million). That bill would not involve purchasing missile defense batteries, but represents the cost of upgrading the alliance's command-and-control infrastructure to integrate member state-provided equipment in a NATO operational scenario.

The issue of territorial defense has been studied since 2003. As part of that undertaking, the alliance has looked broadly at the threat, with no range constraints but with an eye on how it might evolve, notes David Sparks, head of the Missile Defense Group at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency. The work also has involved examining what capabilities member states could provide as well as the command-and-control fabric required to integrate various systems.

As part of that effort, NATO also has had to deal with the change in U.S. plans for its missile defense footprint in Europe. The third interceptor site in Poland had long been at the center of Washington's push, but now the Obama administration's Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) calls for land-basing of the Standard Missile SM-3 with forward deployed sensors (see p. 60). The PAA also calls on members to participate by providing capabilities.

At Lisbon, NATO planners intend to present a technical assessment of the coverage that PAA would provide in its early stages and the scope of European national systems coming online as well as what that represents in terms of a composite capability, Sparks says. Policy questions also are expected to be discussed.

One key topic centers on whether NATO can devise an architecture that truly protects all elements of the alliance, particularly parts of southern Europe, when assuming a threat from Iran. But Sparks notes that "it will be quite difficult at this stage not to protect certain nations." The system is envisioned as "an alliance capability" for the full organization.

Although much of the focus of the deliberations will be on territorial defense, the alliance is more quietly approaching its first major milestone for a basic missile defense capability. By year-end, a basic operational capability is due to be fielded under the Active Layer Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) effort underway since 2005.

ALTBMD is effectively an equipment suite that NATO developed so it can use member-provided theater missile defense systems capable of engaging threats with a range of up to 3,000 km. (1,860 mi.). The first elements are already in place, such as the planning tool for the NATO air command-and-control structure at the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) level and above, notes Dave Kiefer, NATO ALTBMD deputy program manager.

The Interim Capability Step 2—the element due to be added by year-end—will provide the NATO command structure real-time situational awareness of threats, derived from sensors such as the U.S. Defense Support Program early warning satellites and sea-based radars. That information will be processed at a truck-based facility adjacent to the CAOC at Uedem, Germany. The facility will also integrate existing NATO theater missile defense assets, such as PAC"‘3. The French and Italian systems are expected to come online within a year.

But the capability in place at year-end will still be rather basic, partly because many of the systems that eventually will help populate ALTBMD will not be available at the outset. For instance, Dutch frigate sensor information will be added soon after the system starts operations, and French and Italian SAMP/T intercept systems also will still have to be incorporated. However, Kiefer notes that tests are already being conducted to verify compatibility between the NATO system and the national equipment. In fact, work is underway to ensure that the Medium Extended Air Defense System will tie into ALTBMD, even though the program is only at the critical design review stage.

Another hurdle for NATO's missile defense effort has centered on development problems with the Air Command and Control System. Because ACCS has not matured as planned, NATO had to devise the interim solution of setting up the facility adjacent to the CAOC in Uedem. Once ACCS issues are fixed, and the so-called Level of Operational Capability 1 is ready, the situational awareness data will be sent directly in the CAOC.

NATO's investment community still needs to approve upgrades to ACCS Capability 1 for the theater missile defense role, as well as associated improvements to the Bi-Strategic Command Automated Information System, which provides command and control above CAOC level. Kiefer points out that those upgrades are required for the air command-and-control service, the intelligence service and the service producing the common operating picture. Approval of those upgrades should be secured this year.

Photo Credit: Luftwaffe

 

[Patriot]

UK Navy’s Type 45 destroyer tests Sea Viper missile system :: Brahmand.com

LONDON (BNS): UK Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer 'HMS Dauntless' has successfully test launched its newest air defence missile system, the Sea Viper, for the first time last week.

The Sea Viper missile system, which consists of Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, fired an Aster 30 missile from HMS Dauntless at the MOD range in the Hebrides and hit a moving target drone, the UK MoD said.

An Aster 30 missile is fired from Royal Navy's HMS Dauntless warship. A UK MoD photo

"This firing is the culmination of a series of trials of Sea Viper as the system moves towards acceptance into the Royal Navy," Captain Richard Powell, Commanding Officer of HMS Dauntless, said.

The missile system had completed test trials for the Royal Navy's new fleet of Type 45 destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea last month.

The Sea Viper is a potential air defence missile system designed to defend the new Type 45 fleet of destroyers and others ships in their company against multiple attacks by aircraft or missiles approaching from any direction and at supersonic speed.

The system can engage more than ten targets simultaneously – a huge leap in the capability for the Royal Navy.

The missile system, previously called the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), consists of sophisticated, phased-array Sampson radar, a combat and control system, the Sylver missile launching system and MBDA-designed Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles.

 

[Patriot]

NATO Seeks To Boost Its Missile Defense

Oct 5, 2010
By Robert Wall
London

The next two months could be critical in helping to shape NATO's ambition to make missile defense one of its core missions.

This topic has evolved gradually, having once been an area that several member states wanted to avoid altogether. But then NATO began to pursue efforts to protect deployed forces.Now the question is whether NATO's role should grow further and encompass ballistic missile defense of all members' territory.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as well as a group advising the alliance on its strategic direction, maintains that territorial missile defense should become part of the organization's mission. For critics, the move is seen as merely a NATO ploy for relevance in the new strategic security environment.

What members finally decide should be known soon, since clearly defining NATO's role is slated to be a major agenda item at next month's summit in Lisbon.

Program advocates are hopeful the alliance will approve expanding the mandate to territorial from theater missile defense, although several industry officials doubt that such a commitment will emerge. Given budget constraints at the member-state level and the difficulties the alliance has had in tackling the theater missile defense mandate, the most likely outcome will be a two-year study to buy time, the officials say.

Last month, Rasmussen told reporters in Washington that the cost of upgrading NATO's task to territorial from theater defense would be modest, amounting to no more than €200 million ($268 million). That bill would not involve purchasing missile defense batteries, but represents the cost of upgrading the alliance's command-and-control infrastructure to integrate member state-provided equipment in a NATO operational scenario.

The issue of territorial defense has been studied since 2003. As part of that undertaking, the alliance has looked broadly at the threat, with no range constraints but with an eye on how it might evolve, notes David Sparks, head of the Missile Defense Group at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency. The work also has involved examining what capabilities member states could provide as well as the command-and-control fabric required to integrate various systems.

As part of that effort, NATO also has had to deal with the change in U.S. plans for its missile defense footprint in Europe. The third interceptor site in Poland had long been at the center of Washington's push, but now the Obama administration's Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) calls for land-basing of the Standard Missile SM-3 with forward deployed sensors (see p. 60). The PAA also calls on members to participate by providing capabilities.

At Lisbon, NATO planners intend to present a technical assessment of the coverage that PAA would provide in its early stages and the scope of European national systems coming online as well as what that represents in terms of a composite capability, Sparks says. Policy questions also are expected to be discussed.

One key topic centers on whether NATO can devise an architecture that truly protects all elements of the alliance, particularly parts of southern Europe, when assuming a threat from Iran. But Sparks notes that "it will be quite difficult at this stage not to protect certain nations." The system is envisioned as "an alliance capability" for the full organization.

Although much of the focus of the deliberations will be on territorial defense, the alliance is more quietly approaching its first major milestone for a basic missile defense capability. By year-end, a basic operational capability is due to be fielded under the Active Layer Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) effort underway since 2005.

ALTBMD is effectively an equipment suite that NATO developed so it can use member-provided theater missile defense systems capable of engaging threats with a range of up to 3,000 km. (1,860 mi.). The first elements are already in place, such as the planning tool for the NATO air command-and-control structure at the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) level and above, notes Dave Kiefer, NATO ALTBMD deputy program manager.

The Interim Capability Step 2—the element due to be added by year-end—will provide the NATO command structure real-time situational awareness of threats, derived from sensors such as the U.S. Defense Support Program early warning satellites and sea-based radars. That information will be processed at a truck-based facility adjacent to the CAOC at Uedem, Germany. The facility will also integrate existing NATO theater missile defense assets, such as PAC"‘3. The French and Italian systems are expected to come online within a year.

But the capability in place at year-end will still be rather basic, partly because many of the systems that eventually will help populate ALTBMD will not be available at the outset. For instance, Dutch frigate sensor information will be added soon after the system starts operations, and French and Italian SAMP/T intercept systems also will still have to be incorporated. However, Kiefer notes that tests are already being conducted to verify compatibility between the NATO system and the national equipment. In fact, work is underway to ensure that the Medium Extended Air Defense System will tie into ALTBMD, even though the program is only at the critical design review stage.

Another hurdle for NATO's missile defense effort has centered on development problems with the Air Command and Control System. Because ACCS has not matured as planned, NATO had to devise the interim solution of setting up the facility adjacent to the CAOC in Uedem. Once ACCS issues are fixed, and the so-called Level of Operational Capability 1 is ready, the situational awareness data will be sent directly in the CAOC.

NATO's investment community still needs to approve upgrades to ACCS Capability 1 for the theater missile defense role, as well as associated improvements to the Bi-Strategic Command Automated Information System, which provides command and control above CAOC level. Kiefer points out that those upgrades are required for the air command-and-control service, the intelligence service and the service producing the common operating picture. Approval of those upgrades should be secured this year.

Photo: Luftwaffe














NATO Seeks To Boost Its Missile Defense | AVIATION WEEK

 

[Patriot]

Dutch army tests surface-launch AMRAAM missile

NORWAY (BNS): The Dutch army's air-defence artillery has successfully carried out the first ground live-firing exercise of an AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) missile from the Norway's Andøya peninsula.

The Dutch army is introducing the Surface-Launched AMRAAM missile for its air-defense units Photo: Dutch MoD

The army's air-defence component has been working towards this launch since the introduction of the missile in early 2009.

The AMRAAM missile, which is designed as an air-to-air missile, was tested for its integration as a weapon in the Army's Ground Based Air Defence System.

The 4 meters long AMRAAM missile has covered the medium-high altitude layer at the range of up to 75 km, and hit the target at the speed of 5,000 km/hour, which was far beyond sight.

The AMRAAM has its own radar and can be fired independently to track its target.

 

[Patriot]

Turkey faces tough call on NATO missile shield

Ankara: Turkey's Islamist-rooted government faces making a difficult decision that pits maintaining good relations with its neighbours against joining a NATO missile shield directed against Iran.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought in recent years to boost Turkey's ties in the region -- raising suspicions he is moving the country out of the West's orbit -- and will now have to make a decision that will be viewed as a test of its commitment to its NATO partners.

The US plan to build a network of ballistic missile interceptors in Europe has been taken up by NATO, partly in order to convince reluctant members of the alliance to join the project.

The Turkish government will have to stop fence-sitting soon as NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen wants a final decision on the missile shield to be made at a summit of the alliance's leaders on November 19 and 20 in Lisbon.

The United States says the shield is meant to protect against an eventual missile strike from Iran, but has been vociferously opposed by Moscow, which fears it could undermine its nuclear deterrent.

This poses a problem for Ankara, which fears joining the missile shield will damage relations with Moscow and Tehran, which have improved considerably in recent years, according to analysts.

"It is a dilemma for Turkey. On one hand you have a policy of maintaining friendship with our neighbours, and on the other you are going to be deploying arms which target them," said Sinan Ogan, director of the Turksam think tank in Ankara.

When the defence and foreign ministers of Turkey and the United States met Thursday in Brussels on the sidelines of a NATO summit, the missile shield was at the centre of the talks, Turkish media reported, with Turkish officials still "reserved" about joining the project.

Upon his return to Ankara, Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul rejected that term, saying Turkey welcomed the discussions within the alliance on the shield that could be operational by 2015.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was also quoted by Turkish media as saying that Washington was not putting pressure on Ankara to join the project, but was continuing to hold discussions.

Erdogan also said Friday there had been no pressure on his country.

"No demands have been made of us on this matter, so there is no question of us being given a fait accompli" in Lisbon, he said.

"Turkey has not come to a decision yet, there are technical problems to surmount," a Turkish diplomat told AFP on condition on anonymity, saying Ankara was trying to figure out a way to minimise the impact of a "yes" decision, particularly for its relations with Tehran.

Ankara is in particular opposed to the shield being seen as targeting one country, and wants that it protects all of Turkey against a missile attack, not just areas near the Iranian border, said the diplomat.

The question is even more difficult given the suspicions that Erdogan has been trying to move Turkey out of the West's orbit.

Turkey's refusal to allow US troops to cross its territory to invade Iraq in 2003, to support UN sanctions against Iran, and the ferocity of its dispute with Israel over the raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza have all raised concerns about where Erdogan intends to take Turkey.

"A 'no' would only serve to confirm the idea that Turkey is in effect moving away from the West," said Ogan, who believes that the Turkish government will in the end likely decide to join the missile shield project.

The decision is also delicate as Washington remains an important ally for Ankara, particularly its support for Turkey's battle against the PKK Kurdish rebels, said Deniz Zeyrek of the Radikal newspaper.

Washington has been providing intelligence to Ankara about the movements of PKK rebels in northern Iraq, which they have been using as a rear base.






http://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-nato-missile-defense-shield-29515/

 

[Patriot]

Germany Backs NATO Plan for Missile-Defense Shield

For the first time in over a decade, all the foreign and defense ministers of NATO member states convened in Brussels Thursday to discuss plans to reshape the military alliance - including major budget cuts.

Germany has expressed its approval for an anti-missile system proposed by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at a summit of member countries' defense and foreign ministers.

The 28-nation military alliance gathered Thursday in Brussels to discuss its new 10-year strategy designed to usher in a new era with a new orientation. Top of the agenda was a nuclear-missile shield to protect Europe and North America.

"We believe that, on substance, the missile shield is a good idea," German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told reporters ahead of the meeting.

Under discussion is a proposal by Rasmussen and United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates to raise 200 million euros ($278.8 million) over the coming decade to finance an integration of existing missile defense capabilities with missile interceptors the US plans to install in Europe.

Germany pushes disarmament
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters that NATO wanted to include Russia in the missile-defense project, which he called a "crucial breakthrough."

"Our impression is that the signs point to pragmatism and an easing of tension," he added.

Westerwelle was also pleased to see that Rasmussen's plan for NATO's future stressed nuclear disarmament, which he called a "great breakthrough" - although the plan did not concretely respond to the minister's recent proposal to do away with the 10 to 20 nuclear warheads remaining in Germany.

Meanwhile at the summit, Guttenberg urged a skeptical France to get on the bandwagon for disarmament, saying, "these components of disarmament, this momentum ... is of benefit."

Germany's ruling coalition committed last November to the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from German territory, and, along with a handful of other EU countries, called for a debate about their future in Europe.

Attention also turned to the nuclear weapons stationed with US and allied air forces in Germany after Washington and Moscow reached a deal to reduce the number of deployed long-range, "strategic" nuclear warheads.

The German government has also said it wants to see all NATO missions require the approval of the United Nations.

NATO to make cuts
While there are still no concrete figures on how much a new missile shield will cost NATO countries, defense ministers approved plans Thursday to slash NATO's command and administrative structure in order to save funds.

Ministers approved Rasmussen's proposal to cut the military alliance's staff from some 13,000 to under 9,000 and dismantle at least four of its 11 command bases.

Member countries will not begin debates until 2011 on who must give up their prestigious bases.

Secret new strategies
Efforts have been made to keep NATO's new strategy secret, although the basic tenets of the plan are well known. It is intended to be passed at a NATO summit to be held in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, in November.

Aside from modernizing weapons defense, the plan is also expected to urge NATO nations to increase cooperation with non-NATO member states, such as Japan, India, China and Australia.

The alliance's secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said ahead of the summit that the new plan was primarily aimed at making sure NATO remained "the most successful alliance in history."

NATO 3.0
Rasmussen said that following the Cold War and the ensuing transition to a post-Soviet world, the time had come to remodel the international union - to create NATO 3.0.

"An alliance which can defend the 900 million citizens of NATO countries against the threats we face today and will face in the coming decade," he said.

The new strategy foresees a multitude of new threats coming from all directions, including terrorist attacks on national resources and supply channels, and from so-called rogue states such as Iran.

Rasmussen also singled out cyber attacks as a cause for concern, but said any invocation of NATO's well-known Article 5 - which, if activated, classifies an attack on one NATO member an attack on all NATO members - would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

"Neither cyber attacks, nor any other kind of attacks, could be described as a clear Article 5 case in advance," Rasmussen said. "There is what I would call a constructive ambiguity, and that's exactly the strength of Article 5, that potential aggressors never know when the alliance will invoke Article 5."

The Sept.11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States marked the first occasion on which Article 5 was invoked.






http://www.defencetalk.com/germany-backs-nato-plan-for-missile-defense-shield-29494/

 

[Patriot]

Europe conducts first-ever ballistic missile interceptor test

PARIS (BNS): Europe has conducted first-ever ballistic missile interceptor test with an Aster missile system successfully intercepting a medium-range theatre ballistic missile target.

The test, involving an Aster 30 Block 1 missile, the SAMP/T system and its ARABEL radar, was carried out by the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) in the Landes region of France on October 18.

The target used for the firing was representative of a medium-range ballistic missile.

All the successive phases of the operational engagement of a ballistic missile ran nominally: The target was intercepted at the intended range, Eurosam, a joint concern of MBDA and Thales and prime contractor for the SAMP/T surface-to-air defence system, said.

The Aster 30 Block 1 variant has been designed for the French Air Force's Mamba medium range air defence system, also called the SAMP-T, and optimised for the interception of aerial as well as ballistic threats.

The Aster 30 Block 1 missile successfuly hit a medium-range theatre ballistic missile target. An MBDA photo
The missile is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles having a range of 600 kms.

The SAMP-T (soil-air medium-range terrestrial) is the first European system with this capability, according to the French DGA.

A Franco-Italian programme, the SAMP-T is also capable of providing air defense against medium-range conventional threats such as aircraft, cruise missiles, UAVs. The system has already been qualified since 2008.

The system may be implemented by the NATO programme of defence against theater ballistic missiles ALTBMD (active layered theater ballistic missile defense), the DGA said.

MBDA, which manufactures the Aster missile systems, said incremental evolutions of the Aster 30 Block 1 missile have already been proposed to counter the proliferating and growing global ballistic threat. These evolutions will be transferable to all systems currently deploying Aster 30.

The Aster family of missiles also constitute of the Aster 15 and Aster 30 variants. These missile systems are operational in ground or naval configurations for missions associated with the self-defence of aircraft carriers, self, local and fleet area defence when deployed from frigates and destroyers, ground-based area defence as well as the anti-air protection of deployed and projected forces.






http://www.brahmand.com/news/Europe-conducts-first-ever-ballistic-missile-interceptor-test/5597/1/10.html

 

[chex3009]

Missile Offense Shield? 'Expect anything from govt lunatics'


Courtesy : RT

 

[ALBY]

NATO commander to talk Euro missile shield in Moscow
Moscow: NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, US Admiral James Stavridis and Russia's Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov will make another attempt to overcome the deadlock in Russia-NATO talks on European missile defense during their meeting in Moscow Monday.

Makarov and Stavridis are expected to discuss "the current state and prospects of Russia-NATO cooperation in the military sphere", including the creation of the European missile shield, and address "relevant regional and international security issues", the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

Russia's envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said Monday the talks between Moscow and the alliance on European missile defense have yielded "zero results".

"Our partners are not going to make any serious advances during the talks," he said, adding that NATO leadership was interested in "lowering the profile" of media coverage of the talks "in order to hide its principal refusal to"¦ consider Russia's objective demands from the public".

He reiterated that NATO should provide Moscow with legal guarantees that its projected European missile defense shield will not be directed at Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed concerns Sunday that Moscow's disagreements with NATO over the issue could lead to a new arms race.

In an interview with Russia's Profil political weekly, the minister said Russia had its own defense projects allowing Moscow "not to worry about our security under any circumstance" while avoiding "additional serious expenses".

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on European missile defense system at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010. President Dmitry Medvedev proposed a joint system with full-scale interoperability to ensure that NATO's system will not be directed against Moscow.

The alliance, however, favors two independent systems which exchange information.

The Russian foreign ministry warned last week that by refusing to provide legal guarantees on its missile shield, NATO could miss the chance to "turn anti-missile defense from an area of confrontation into an area of cooperation".
Manorama Online | NATO commander to talk Euro missile shield in Moscow

 

[SpArK]

NATO Anti-Missile Radar in Turkey Put into Operation

A NATO missile defense radar deployed in Turkey has been put into operation, CNN quoted a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

The X-band AN/TPY-2 early warning radar is part of the THAAD system designed to intercept medium-range missiles at very high altitudes. It is located at a military base in the eastern province of Malatya, some 400 miles southeast of the capital Ankara, and is manned by both Turkish and U.S. personnel, the spokesman said.


He did not specify when the radar was put into operation. Earlier this month, Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted sources as saying it became operational on January 1.


Turkey is among the five countries that agreed to host parts of a U.S.-European missile defense shield. The others are Portugal, Poland, Romania and Spain.
Ankara and Washington have said the radar will help provide early warning of missile threats coming from outside Europe.
NATO members agreed to install a missile shield over Europe to protect against ballistic missiles launched by so-called rogue states, for example Iran and North Korea, at a summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2010.


Russia has strongly criticized NATO's reluctance to provide written, legally binding guarantees that its European missile shield will not be directed against Moscow. President Dmitry Medvedev ordered in Novemebr a series of measures designed to strengthen the country's missile defense capabilities in response to NATO's shield, including the deployment of Iskander missiles in Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad on the border with Poland.

NATO Anti-Missile Radar in Turkey Put into Operation | Defense | RIA Novosti

 

[SpArK]