frequently asked questions on missile defense
General Information
Q: What is a “missile defense system” and who would it protect?
A: The U.S. has developed an integrated, layered missile defense network to protect against ballistic missile attacks from hostile states. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the U.S. government research and development agency charged with developing this system. A missile defense system comprises a number of components at locations around the globe, including land, sea, and air-based systems to defeat short to long-range missiles that could threaten the United States, as well as Europe and other allies and friends. The existing U.S. system protects the United States. The U.S. intends to add a MD site in Europe to increase protection for the U.S. homeland, and at the same time protect U.S. allies in Europe.
Q: How would the missile defense system work in this region of Europe?
A: A missile launch is first detected by an early warning satellite of the type that has provided missile early warning for several decades. Basic information regarding missile trajectory and type of missile is relayed to the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) operations center. Ground-based early warning radars then track the missile and provide additional information about the missile to the command center. A ground-based X-band radar, like the one that would be built in the Czech Republic, will then gather more precise target tracking information and this information is transmitted to the ground-based interceptor missile. An interceptor is launched, and receives additional targeting information while in flight. A small "kill vehicle" containing a package of advanced sensors and electronics separates from the main rocket motors and uses its on-board rockets to place it in the path of the target warhead more than 100 km in space. The "kill vehicle" then proceeds to collide directly with the target warhead, using only the force of direct collision to destroy the target warhead high in space and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of kilometers from the interceptor launch site. Since the intercept occurs so high in space and so far away from the interceptor launch site, debris from the intercept is unlikely to fall to earth.
Q: Where in Europe and the world are there components of the short to long-range missile defense elements already in place?
A: The U.S. has fielded and deployed missile defense systems to a number of locations both inside the U.S. and abroad to address the evolving ballistic missile threat. In Europe, the existing early warning radar in the United Kingdom has been upgraded to enable its integration and employment as a component of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. In addition, the U.S. and Denmark have signed an agreement to use an upgraded early warning radar in Greenland that will be integrated into the missile defense system in the next few years. Also, long-range interceptor missiles are located in Alaska and California in the U.S., and an upgraded missile tracking radar is located in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. An X-band radar has been deployed to Japan, the Patriot system against short to medium range missiles is in numerous locations around the world, U.S. ships equipped with advanced missile defense radars and interceptor missiles are preparing for operation in the Pacific Ocean.
The United States is cooperating on the system with a wide range of friends and allies including Japan, Great Britain, Australia, Denmark and Italy. The United States also cooperates with Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, and with NATO on broad areas related to missile defense. In addition, the United States and Spain have established a Missile Defense Technical Group; the United States has a Theater Missile Defense Exercise Program with Russia; and we are exploring possible cooperative projects with France and Ukraine.
