Missile Defense Briefing Report: No. 311

ARROW 3 REACHES NEW HEIGHTS
Israel’s long-range missile defense system recently achieved another milestone. The Arrow 3 system, co-developed with the U.S. in response the long-range missile threat from Iran, successfully launched an interceptor missile into space. According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, this was the first flight test of the Arrow 3 interceptor and the system will be deployed in three years. The new interceptor is an advancement over its predecessor, the Arrow 2, and provides Israel with an exo-atmospheric intercept capability, allowing it to shoot down medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) before they reenter the atmosphere. (ABC News, February 25, 2013)

BRITAIN TO PARTNER WITH U.S. ON SEA-BASED DEFENSE
The British Missile Defense Center has agreed to conduct a joint trial with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to explore the possibility of equipping British destroyers with missile interceptors. The program will explore the applicability of BAE Systems’ Sampson radar, which is part of the Sea Viper missile system, to sea-based theater missile defense. The trial will use the Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer as a platform from which detection and interception systems could be based in the future. This decision follows recent satellite tracking experiments involving Sampson radars mounted on Type 45 destroyers. (United Press International, March 8, 2013)

NORTH KOREA’S MOBILE MISSILE THREATENS U.S.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he believes North Korea is close to deploying an intercontinental ballistic missile which can threaten the U.S. The KN-08 ICBM is believed to be road-mobile and represents a “quantum leap in the North Korean missile threat,” Clapper said. Although Pyongyang has not tested the KN-08, several of the missiles were spotted moving around the country in January. Road-mobile North Korean missiles pose a serious threat to the U.S. and its allies because they can be moved around covertly, and are difficult to detect and target. There are also concerns that the technology could be transferred to other nefarious actors, including Iran. (Washington Free Beacon, March 14, 2013)

U.S. BOOSTS HOMELAND DEFENSE, CUTS NATO MISSILE SHIELD...
The U.S. has decided to cancel the fourth phase of its European Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA), and instead to deploy 14 new missile interceptors in Alaska in response to the evolving ICBM threats posed by North Korea and Iran. The fourth and final stage of the PAA involved stationing SM-3 IIB anti-missile systems in Poland by 2022. The SM-3 IIB’s primary purpose was to intercept long-range ballistic missiles launched by Iran; it was also strongly opposed by Russia, which was worried that the system would undermine its own nuclear deterrent.

Beyond the political, the decision has practical ramifications for U.S. defense. It limits the ability of the U.S. to fire multiple waves of interceptors, a process that is known as “shoot-look-shoot,” at an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile originating from the Middle East. (Washington Post, March 19, 2013)

...BUT RUSSIA ISN’T APPEASED
Russian officials have indicated that the recent decision by the U.S. to forgo the development of a new missile interceptor that would have been deployed in Poland is unlikely to improve relations between the two countries—in which missile defense has emerged as a principal bone of contention. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it asserted that “the United States continues to adhere to a course aimed at strengthening its global anti-missile defenses and increasing their effectiveness.” “We believe,” the statement said, “this confirms the need to work out reliable, legally binding guarantees that American missile defense efforts are not aimed at Russia.” (Reuters, March 18, 2013)

CHINA UNHAPPY OVER NEW MISSILES IN ALASKA
China, for its part, has made clear that it does not view the U.S. investment in 14 more Ground-Based Interceptors in Alaska as a positive step. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently announced that the U.S. will invest nearly $1 billion to enhance U.S. long-range missile defense capabilities in the wake of North Korea’s recent nuclear test. A spokesman from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters in Beijing that “strengthening antimissile deployments and military alliances can only deepen antagonism and will be of no help to solving problems.” (International Herald Tribune, March 19, 2013)