Missile Defense Briefing Report: No. 312

U.S. BUDGET CUTS DRIVE POLAND’S MISSILE SHIELD...
In the wake of the Obama administration’s decision to scrap its European missile defense plans, the Polish government has announced that it will develop its own missile defense system at a cost of 33.6 billion euros ($43.3 billion). Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has told the country’s parliament that his government will move ahead with plans for an indigenous anti-missile capability, which “will make up part of the NATO system.” The nascent Polish shield, Silorski said, will be operational by 2018. (Defense News, March 20, 2013)

...WHILE RUSSIA SEEKS TO REENGAGE DIPLOMATICALLY ON BMD
Initially, Washington’s announcement that it plans to forego the deployment of missile defenses in Europe in favor of an increase in the number of missile interceptors in Alaska met with a chilly reception in Moscow. Now, however, there appears to be new momentum in the missile defense dialogue between Russia and the United States. In a new development, the Kremlin has proposed to establish a bilateral dialogue on the issue with the United States, to be conducted on the deputy minister level. “We are very interested in further developments on the European missile defense and our minister offered to restart regular consultations on that between deputy ministers,” Anatoly Antonov, a deputy Defense Minister, has confirmed. (Reuters, March 25, 2013)

DOES MISSILE DEFENSE RESTRUCTURE MEAN NEW KILL VEHICLES?
The White House’s decision to install an additional fourteen ground-based interceptors (GBIs) in Alaska should prompt the development of new advanced kill vehicle capabilities, say some on Capitol Hill. Former Missile Defense Agency director Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, for one, points out the technology utilized in GBIs is decades old, and advocates continuing work on new interceptors. Officials in the aerospace industry, meanwhile, are hopeful that Administration plans to restructure the SM-3 IIB interceptor will include the development of more effective and reliable kill vehicles. (Aviation Week, March, 25 2013)

SOUTH KOREA PLANS TO FIELD HOME GROWN SYSTEM
South Korea will install its long-awaited indigenous missile defense system this summer to counter the growing missile threat posed by neighboring North Korea. Seoul began developing its indigenous Korea Air and Missile Defense System (KAMD) back in 2006. The KAMD consists of early warning radars, sea-based and land-based defenses that will work in conjunction with U.S. early warning satellites to intercept North Korean short- and medium- range missiles. Seoul will begin utilizing the control tower of the shield, known as the Air and Missile Defense Cell (AMD-Cell), this July as well. The AMD-Cell “analyzes information acquired from the U.S. early missile warning satellites and South Korea’s radar system and sends it to Patriot missile units” operated by South Korea. (Seoul Yonhap, April 10, 2013)

MAKING THE CASE FOR EAST COAST DEFENSE
Growing missile threats to the U.S. homeland, including North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, as well as Iran’s pursuit of the same, have led lawmakers to call for the deployment of missile defense assets on the Eastern seaboard. The current positioning of missile interceptors means that “shoot-look-shoot” coverage does not exist for any part of the country east of the Mississippi River. But that may soon change. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) has said that she believes the threat of a North Korean missile strike should “serve as a wakeup call” regarding the need for missile defense coverage of the East Coast. For the moment, however, hopes for such deployments remain just that; plans for the deployment of systems that could protect the eastern region of the U.S. were debated but ultimately not included in the final version of the 2013 Defense Authorization Act. (The Hill, March 19, 2013)