BMD Watch: Russia radar base threat

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- The Kremlin will withdraw its offer to allow the United States to jointly operate with Russia radar stations for ballistic missile defense in southern Russia and Azerbaijan if Washington pushes ahead with deploying missile defense systems against ICBMs in Central Europe, a senior Russian general said last week.

"If the U.S. deploys the third positioning unit in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia will withdraw its proposals on Armavir and Gabala," said the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's international cooperation department, Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Buzhinsky, RIA Novosti reported.

In fact, pulling the joint radar station proposal off the table will not affect the substance of the deadlock between the United States and Russia on the issue at all. U.S. missile defense experts who favor the plans to deploy 10 Ground-based Mid-course Interceptors in Central Europe generally agree that putting the radars in southern Russia or Azerbaijan, or positioning the GBI close by, is neither advisable nor practical.

The GBIs would be deployed to guard any future Iranian nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile attack against the United States or Western Europe from Iran or other rogue states in the Middle East region. The current planned location of the GBIs in Poland and the proposed radar base to guide them in the neighboring Czech Republic would be ideal locations, But the Russian proposal to use existing radar stations at Armavir in southern Russia and Gabala in Azerbaijan simply don't fit the bill.

Despite Iran's priority drive to develop long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's often repeated threats to wipe Israel off the map, Buzhinsky claimed that there was no real danger from Tehran in the foreseeable future.

"I find it hard to understand why the U.S., being such a pragmatic country, raises billions of dollars to track hypothetical launches of Iranian missiles," Buzhinsky said, according to the RIA Novosti report.

ABL passes ground test "milestone"

Boeing last week announced it had carried out the first ground activation testing for the Airborne Laser -- ABL -- program at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The company in a statement described the test as "another significant milestone" for the ABL program.

"ABL's weapon system integration team has done a great job preparing the high-energy laser for activation testing, which will ensure each laser subsystem is brought on line sequentially and safely," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.

"Laser installation and the start of laser activation move the program a giant step closer to ABL's missile shoot-down demonstration planned for 2009," Fancher said.

Boeing said it would finish installing the high energy laser's plumbing and wiring systems over the next few weeks. All the laser's most important components, such as its battle management system, laser components, and beam control/fire control system, already have been put in place, the company said.

The ABL is scheduled to undergo a full airborne intercept test against a target ballistic missile next year, Boeing said.

The ABL will be installed in a modified Boeing 747-400F. The laser itself was constructed by Northrop Grumman, its beam control/fire control system was constructed by Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, the prime contractor, built the battle management system.

Olmert seeks U.S. funding for Arrow 3

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was looking to get U.S. funding for the next generation of his country's Arrow anti-ballistic missile system during his brief visit to Washington this week.

Olmert wants an additional $150 million from the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress as quickly as possible to push ahead with development of the new Arrow 3, which will have significantly increased range and altitude capabilities, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

The Post said that if Congress and President George W. Bush moved fast , funding could authorized by October and then Arrow 3 development would be fully funded for Fiscal Year 2009. Work on the program is expected to move so rapidly that the new upgraded missile could be operational before the end of 2010, the newspaper said.

Israel's leaders take the threat of nuclear ballistic missile attack from Iran extremely seriously. The Jerusalem Post said work on the new Arrow 3 has already started at Israel Aerospace Industries. It said the key decision to push ahead with the project was made by top Israeli defense officials in April.