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Ten Years Later, a Successful Demonstration of a Sea-Based Terminal Defense Against Ballistic Missiles by Baker Spring, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #1125 June 13, 2006 | | In 1995, The Heritage Foundation’s Missile Defense Study Team proposed to Congress a comprehensive plan for developing and deploying an effective global defense against ballistic missiles.[1] The panel was chaired by the former director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, Ambassador Henry F. Cooper, and among its recommendations was a proposal to evolve the existing AEGIS weapons systems onboard Navy surface ships for air defense into a missile defense system. Last month, the Navy...

Sea-Based Missile Defense System Works, but Will Congress Fund It? by Baker SpringPosted Jun 16, 2006In 1995, The Heritage Foundation’s Missile Defense Study Team proposed to Congress a comprehensive plan for developing and deploying an effective global defense against ballistic missiles. The panel was chaired by the former director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, Ambassador Henry F. Cooper, and among its recommendations was a proposal to evolve the existing AEGIS weapons systems onboard Navy surface ships for air defense into a missile defense system. Last month, the Navy demonstrated the wisdom of this approach by successfully testing modified versions of...

Report: Poland tops Pentagon list for US missile defence site Mar 4, 2006, 13:58 GMT Warsaw - Pentagon experts favour NATO member Poland as a potential location for the overseas portion of the United States National Missile Defence (NMD) project, Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported Saturday quoting sources in Washington. The US-based NMD plan is designed to protect it and fellow NATO defence alliance members plus Japan from a potential nuclear missile attack by rogue states. Washington is now expected to make a political decision on the location of a large anti-missile base in Europe to serve as the overseas...

<p>The Pentagon's testing office has less confidence today than it did a year ago in the nation's fledgling missile defense system.</p> <p>A new report from the office says testing of the rudimentary system in place in Alaska and California "suggests" — but doesn't demonstrate that it "may have some inherent defensive capability" to intercept North Korean missiles. Last year's report was less tentative, saying the system "should have some limited capability."</p>

Airborne Laser Completes Laser Ground Tests ST. LOUIS, Dec. 12, 2005 -- The Boeing-led [NYSE: BA] Airborne Laser team announced today the successful completion of a series of tests involving its high energy laser at the Systems Integration Lab at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. During this test series, lasing duration and power were demonstrated at levels suitable for the destruction of multiple classes of ballistic missiles. This is the second of two program significant knowledge points planned for 2005. Airborne Laser's (ABL) megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) is designed and built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC). Lasing...

The United States took the "unusual step" of sharing highly classified intelligence data on Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear-capable missile to secure India's support for the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution against Tehran's controversial atomic programme, an American expert has claimed. The maturity of the deepening Indo-US relationship is being tested by the contentious issue of Iran and Washington was "pleased and relieved" that New Delhi finally backed it in taking a tough stance in dealing with Tehran, John E Carbaugh, a policy analyst who advises the US administration and major American multinational firms, said in his latest...

Nuclear-armed India introduced a bill into parliament yesterday intended to codify New Delhi's policy to prevent the spread of its nuclear weapons and missile technology to non-nuclear states. The introduction of the weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems bill comes almost seven years to the day that India defied international pressure and tested a nuclear weapon. Pranab Mukherjee, defence minister, said: “The provisions of the act apply to export, transfer, re-transfer, transit and trans-shipment of material, equipment or technology relating to weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery.” Defence analysts say the bill has long been...

(Warning! Strong coarse language follow) (Flips the bird) **** Canada! So Canada joins New Zealand as the biggest free riders of the English speaking nations. Tossing aside sixty years of common defence of North America they've now refused to join the US missile defence programme. They'll get the protection for free of course. Like New Zealand they can always rely on a bigger more serious country to do the heavy lifting for them. It's sickening what's happening to the western democracies. I blame the emancipation of women. God help us if Australia or the US ever give the girls the...

Washington was rudely awakened on September 11, 2001. The attacks on the World Trade Centers showed just how vulnerable America really was. The country had no defense against an ultimate attack. Bush had already resumed defense concerns when he took office. After 9/11 he revived the Star Wars concept, reasserting that defense outweighed aggression. He has worked to reduce nuclear proliferation, and, more importantly, to create an anti-ballistic missile system. Rumsfeld announced in June, 2001 that America would build such a system. The following year (December 2002) Bush announced that the system would be operable by 2004. We’re not there...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Russia Beefing Up Missile ForcesPhil Brennan, NewsMax.comMonday, Dec. 13, 2004 Is there a new Cold War and arms race underway? A new force of the Topol-M Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)- described by Russian Defense officials as a "21st-century weapon" unrivaled in the world and allegedly capable of defeating U.S. anti-missile defenses - is due to be created in 2005, posing a deadly threat to the U.S. According to Russian Missile Force Commander Nikolai Solovtsov a fifth missile regiment armed with Topol-M ICBMs will be added next year. Today's RIA Novosti quoted Solovtsov as telling a Moscow news...

The Lompoc RECORD First missile interceptor to be installed at VAFBBy Janene Scully - Associate Editor12/5/04 Countdown clocks ticking off minutes, hours and days will hit zero with this week's installation of the first missile defense interceptor at Vandenberg Air Force Base.On a remote section of northern Vandenberg early Tuesday morning, crews expect to begin lowering the first missile defense interceptor to its underground home.Rain or heavy wind could force the crews to postpone their work, officials warned.The missile, and a second to be added this month, join six already in place in silos at Fort Greely, Alaska, for the...

http://www.missilethreat.com/news/200411290834.html Russia Tests Modernized Missile Defense System November 29, 2004 :: Itar-Tass :: News Russia today conducted a successful test of an upgraded version of its A-135 ballistic missile defense system. The test took place at the Sary Shagan Missile Range, located in Kazakhstan. Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov described the test as flawless: The missile accurately hit the training target. Putin was reported as having responded to the test, saying "Good, congratulations." According to RIA Novosti, Ivanov also said that "We intend to upgrade and modernize the anti-ballistic missile defense system further."The A-135 system, based around and designed to defend...

PAC-3 Missile Program Advances On Separate Fronts, Officials Say By Marc Selinger 11/19/2004 08:55:36 AM The U.S. Army's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile program has achieved significant progress on two key fronts, Army officials said Nov. 18.The Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), which aims to make several improvements to the PAC-3 missile, successfully completed its preliminary design review (PDR) the week of Nov. 8-12, said Col. John Vaughn, the Army's lower-tier air and missile defense project manager. There were "no major issues" during the PDR, which will be followed by one more review, the critical design review, in late summer...

Weapons in Space Weapons in the Heavens: A Radical and Reckless OptionPrograms to WatchFalse Alarm on Foreign CapabilitiesNational Space Policy: Evolution by Stealth? Weapons in the Heavens: A Radical and Reckless Option Michael Krepon Of all the risky “transformation” initiatives championed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the one receiving the least media attention is the weaponization of space. Shortly before arriving for his second tour at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld chaired a commission calling for the U.S. government to vigorously pursue “the option to deploy weapons in space to deter threats and, if necessary, defend against attacks on U.S. interests.”[1]The...

The High GroundThe next missile-defense battle heats up in space. Sometime between now and the end of September, President Bush will tell Americans that the United States finally has a rudimentary missile-defense system. The announcement will come shortly after the Pentagon activates a handful of interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. They'll be advertised as capable of stopping a limited ICBM attack from the likes of North Korea. Democrats then will repeat their standard arguments about why it's better to have no missile defenses at all. They'll say that it costs too much,...

On Jan. 12, 1984, two weeks after the West German defense ministry announced that the first nine U.S. nuclear-tipped intermediate-range Pershing II ballistic missiles were operable on West German soil, then-Massachusetts Lt. Gov. John Kerry found himself in West Germany's Black Forest on an acid-rain fact-finding mission. Someone had awakened the ambitious Kerry at 3 a.m. to tell him that Paul Tsongas would not run for re-election to the Senate. "The issue of war and peace was on the table again," Mr. Kerry later told the Boston Globe, and he jumped into the race before the end of January.

Indicating that the Indo-US strategic partnership is blooming, the United States has offered to sell its Patriot missile defence system to India. Highly placed sources say the offer was made during the discussions between US and Indian officials on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. The Patriot is an air-defence system which can defeat both attack aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles. Sources say the sale of the Patriot may be linked to India getting on board the National Missile Defence (NMD) as it can also be integrated into the broader NMD framework. While India is said...

WASHINGTON: Ahead of a meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush next week, Washington has agreed to lift export controls on equipment for nuclear facilities to India and liberalise high-tech trade, including those related to space science. US export licensing policies will be eased to foster cooperation in commercial space programmes and certain exports to power plants at safeguarded nuclear facilities, a joint statement titled 'The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership between India and the United States' said on Friday. The first phase of this partnership was concluded yesterday following two-days of intensive talks...

Our Political Bureau. New Delhi, Sept 1: India will be collaborating with Israel and the US to develop nano-materials and hi-tech components needed for electronic warfare systems. The outgoing chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), VK Aatre said that India had decided to launch joint programmes with Israel in the field of electronic warfare, where both countries were on an equal footing. “Israel is very strong in sensors and packaging. We would like to work on fibre-optic gyros and micro-electromechanical systems,” Dr Aatre told mediapersons shortly before retiring as DRDO chief on Tuesday. Responding to questions on...

(Author's note: I have served for 28 years, including service in our defense as well as overseas) Out of All the years that I have been here at FRee Republic, this is the first article that I have posted. I wanted to share this little bit of disregarded history with all of you. Two things that President Carter did that in later years that contributed to 09/11/01 happening. 1. Not supporting the Shah of Iran and letting violent revolutionaries(at least some of them current terrorists) take over the country, overunning our embassy at the time and holding members of our...