Missile defense plan seen ready by fall

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military hopes to complete
work this fall on a plan mapping out how regional commanders
will be able to use the fledgling U.S. missile defense system,
a top general said on Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, commander of the U.S. Army Space and
Missile Defend Command, told industry executives and
congressional aides he expected the so-called “concept of
operations” to be done by October or November.

He said it marked the first time the military had tried to
draft such a plan for a specific capability across the
military’s regional commands.

Dodgen hailed a recent successful test of a missile-shield
component built by Lockheed Martin Corp. to shoot down a
ballistic missile in the last minute or so of its flight.

The so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon
system, or THAAD, “exceeded its objectives” in the long-planned
test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Lockheed said in
a statement earlier this month.

Dodgen agreed, saying the THAAD missiles would “pay for
themselves many times over.”

He also mentioned plans to deploy missile interceptors in
Japan, and said officials were still weighing where to place
interceptors in Europe.

The United States last month activated its ground-based
interceptor missile-defense system ahead of a test-launch of
North Korean missiles on July 5.

North Korea defied international warnings and fired seven
missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula. Dodgen said
the missiles were not in the air long enough to learn much
about them, but the U.S. military was still studying its data.

The United States has built up a complex of interceptor
missiles, advanced radar stations and data relays designed to
detect and shoot down an enemy missile, but tests of the system
have had mixed results. It is based on the concept of using one
missile to shoot down another before it can reach its target.

The United States has installed nine interceptors in silos
at Fort Greely in Alaska and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California. In addition, U.S. Navy vessels with long-range
tracking and surveillance capability ply the Sea of Japan.

Dodgen said further improvements would include placement of
additional interceptor missiles, more sensors and further
development of the system’s capabilities, including better
defenses against cruise missiles.