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U.S. Move on Missile Defense Could Revive Talks with Russia
[An Nahar] The United States is ready to abandon the final phase of its European missile defense system, a U.S. official said Saturday, in a move that could revive arms control talks with Russia.As part of plans announced Friday to deploy more anti-missile batteries in Alaska to thwart potential strikes from North Korea, the United States intends to "restructure" its missile defense program in Europe, an administration official said. President Barack Obama's plan for Europe had envisaged SM-3 interceptors on land and sea that would be upgraded and improved over four stages. The final phase of the missile-killing interceptor, known as SM-3 IIB, was due to be deployed within about 10 years in Poland and possibly Romania, with a more powerful booster rocket and other advanced hardware. But the final phase "is being restructured due to congressional funding cuts and changing technology," the administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Agence France Presse. "The goal is to research what alternative there could be to the original SM-3 IIB plan," the official said. Posted by: Fred 2013-03-17 |
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