Frequently Asked Questions On Missile Defense
(updated February 11, 2008)
You can also directly send your questions to the Embassy: QuestionsMDPrague@state.gov.
Q: What has the U.S. asked the Czech Government?
A: The United States has asked the current Czech government to enter into formal negotiations on hosting a missile defense facility. The Czech government announced March 28, 2007, that it had decided to enter into negotiations about the U.S. interest in building a missile defense radar facility in the Brdy military area.
An exchange of diplomatic notes between the U.S. and Czech governments was completed on March 28, 2007, and set the framework for formal negotiations. Negotiations began in May and will continue in both Prague and the United States in the months ahead. Some technical evaluations of the proposed site will be concurrent with the negotiations. The final decision whether to host a missile defense facility will be a Czech decision. A chronology of U.S.-Czech negotiations and events is available on the U.S. Embassy website (more).
Q: Haven’t negotiations been taking place for years?
A: The U.S. has been exploring options for a missile defense system in Europe since 2002; the goal is to put in place defense that can intercept missiles that may in the future be launched from Iran and aimed at either the European continent or the eastern United States. The Czech Republic and Poland were among the NATO allies who responded positively to the U.S. request to look at possible sites. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency believes that deploying missile defense assets in this region would provide the best possible protection of the European continent. Beginning in 2006, U.S. and Czech experts conducted technical evaluations of several sites proposed by the Czech government; these technical talks did not represent formal negotiations.
Following a State Security Council, meeting, the Czech government announced July 3, 2007, that it selected a site in the Brdy military area about two kilometers from the village of Misov in the Pilsen region for the possible radar facility.
Q: What specific type of radar would be built in the Czech Republic?
A: A ground-based, midcourse X-Band is proposed for the Czech Republic. The X-band variety means it utilizes frequencies between 8-12 GHz to form a finely focused beam that is capable of tracking and discerning small objects at great distances. It will not affect mobile telephones or television or radio reception since they operate outside the X-band frequency spectrum. The radar will never be pointed at the ground and will operate only during testing or during an actual missile launch. X-band radars are used all over the world, including airports and as weather radars. The international airport in Prague has an X-band radar on top of its control tower to monitor aircraft movement on its runways.
The radar proposed for use in the Czech Republic is actually a radar that has been used for many years on a U.S. Missile Defense Agency test facility on Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands. After refurbishment and updating of the radar computers, it would be moved to the Czech Republic. The basic functionality of the radar has been in testing for about 10 years at Kwajalein, with no negative affects to the environment or health of the over 2,500 residents.
More information about the facility on Kwajalein is available on the U.S. Embassy website (more) . The Missile Defense Agency has welcomed Czech officials, parliamentarians, Czech Television and other journalists, as well as independent Czech experts to gather first-hand information on the radar on Kwajalein.
Q: Will the public be kept informed?
A: Since January 19, when the United States proposed formal negotiations on missile defense for the protection of Europe, the Czech government has conducted numerous briefings, covered by the media, to provide information, in addition that carried on its website “radarbrdy.cz”. The U.S. Embassy has posted factual information on missile defense on its website since September 2006. The U.S. Embassy is committed to offering factual information on the radar facility proposed for the Czech Republic, with details as they become available. Some details can only be finalized during negotiations, which are expected to take several months.
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