[Air Force Times] William H. McMichael - Having scuttled plans to build a massive ground-based missile defense system based in the Czech Republic and Poland intended to counter the threat posed by Iranian ballistic missiles, the Obama administration instead favors shorter-range ground- and sea-based missiles positioned closer to Iran. "This new approach will provide capability sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defenses against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 European missile defense program," Obama said Thursday. Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the new approach will be global in nature, integrating allied systems such as the Israeli Arrow, jointly developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries Ltd. and Boeing Corporation. "It does not have to be just American weapons and just American sensors," Cartwright said. The first phase of the new plan has already begun, with the deployment to the eastern Mediterranean of Aegis ships equipped with the SM-3 Block 1 Mod A missile system complementing the Patriot systems already deployed.
2009-09-18 08:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive