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Allies Join US in Developing Theater Missile Defense
At least half a dozen countries are now working together with the United States on theater missile defense which the Bush administration expects to be integrated into a "layered" shield eventually to protect against intercontinental ballistic missiles, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.
The Washington Post said that the United States has undertaken joint research with Germany, Italy, Japan, Israel and some other countries on theater missile defense, a shield system that is meant to cover "a modest amount of territory or a cluster of warships" from short- and medium-range missiles.
Germany and Italy have joined the US defense department in research on the development of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), a highly mobile system designed to strike down short-range missiles to protect far-flung troops in hot spots.
The three countries entered a 216 million dollars contract last month for the initial design of MEADS, and this is "the first defense initiative ever started on the basis of technical requirements devised by the Pentagon and its international partners," the newspaper said.
The US Navy is working with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands for research on sea-based theater missile defense. The four countries met in April 1999 and agreed to cooperate on the program, said The Washington Post, attributing the information to a senior US Navy official.
According to the Navy official, the US Navy also has discussed with its British counterparts on the development of software for a tracking system that combines S-band radar, used for detecting missile launches, and X-band radar, used to distinguish among multiple objects in a "cluttered" environment.
Meanwhile, in August 1999, Washington and Tokyo signed a memorandum of understanding, which calls for Japanese scientists to seek technologies for an advanced sea-based interceptor, including ceramics for lightweight nose cones and two-color infrared sensors.
"But the Pentagon's most advanced partnership on missile defenses is with Israel. The two countries have developed the Arrow to shoot down medium-range ballistic missiles," The Washington Post said.
In a test last September, the Arrow intercepted a missile launched from an F-15 over the Mediterranean in a trajectory simulating a Scud B missile.
The United States has provided 60 percent of the 2 billion dollars cost of the Arrow program, which was designed to shoot down Iran's Shahab missiles with a range of about 1,200 miles.
The United States and Israel also have devised the Tactical High Energy Laser, and in recent tests at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the laser weapon has successfully knocked down more than 20 Katyushas, The Washington Post said.
It added that Israel may soon deploy the laser weapon in its northern border to protest against Katyusha rockets fired from neighboring Lebanon.
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