US military officials say there is no pressure to meet a late 2004 deadline to activate a "modest" missile defence system based largely on the Pacific coast. Two years ago, President George Bush announced a goal to convert a planned missile defence testbed based primarily in Alaska and California into a defensive capability against a limited salvo of ballistic missiles.
The US Missile Defense Agency has since installed each of the components of the initial system, including seven interceptors, a command and control centre and satellite coverage, plus ground- and sea-based radars. But the system has not been formally activated as discussions continue about rules of engagement and command responsibilities.
The system layout crosses mission and geographical boundaries of four major US component commanders for the Pacific, European, Strategic and Northern commands, complicating the process of assigning authority for giving the order to fire the interceptors during an attack.
Defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last month the timing of the formal declaration of initial capability was no longer a pressing matter. "If there was some threat that was evolving and it would be desirable to go out of a test mode and see the extent to which you could be in an operational mode, my impression is it wouldn't take long to get there. But we don't see that threat. Therefore, we're not pressured. Our task in the immediate period is to get it right and to keep working on it."
Rumsfeld played down the impact of an aborted flight test on 15 December when an anomaly caused test officials to shut down the launch sequence for an interceptor rocket in the launch tube. "People think of those as failures," he said. "But most people think of them as learning experiences; it is that process of trying things and learning from it that enables one to step ahead and advance science and technology."
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International