BMD Technology Sharing Initiatives: From CDI Missile Defense Newsletter

US & India
January 03,2003
India and the United States to talk about missile defense cooperation
India and the United States are scheduled to hold talks on Jan. 15-16 regarding possible cooperation on missile defense. The talks will occur via the Indo-U.S. Defense Policy Group and will be led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Thomas Payne and India's External Affairs' Joint Secretary for Disarmament Sheelkant Sharma.
Times of India, Jan. 3, 2003.

US & Taiwan
April 01,2003
Taiwan re-thinking Patriot purchase
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) is keeping a wary eye on the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3's performance in Iraq, wondering the reported $2.8 billion deal should continue as planned or if alternative defense systems should be explored. Said Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Chen Chao-ming, "We will ask the [United States] to improve the Patriot system before delivering the newest version of the system - the PAC-3 - to the island. If they can not meet our demands, we will set up certain conditions for the deal." Presently, MND intends to buy six PAC-3 batteries. One alternative technology being discussed is an anti-tactical ballistic missile (ATBM) system based on the Tien Kung missile. The Taiwanese military hopes to complete development of the ATBM by 2006. The ATBM system is currently in its testing phase, where it has run into problems creating a fast enough interceptor to be effective against ballistic missile targets. Taipei Times, March 25, 2003 .

US & Japan
September 2003
U.S. missile defense umbrellaIn order to protect Japan and U.S. forces from a North Korean ballistic missile attack, the United States has been recently considering deploying an Aegis defense system with SM-3 at a U.S. naval base in Japan possibly starting from 2004. This means that Japan would be protected under the umbrella of the U.S. missile defense system before building its own system. If the plan is finalized, Yokosuka , Kanagawa Prefecture would probably be chosen as the vessels’ de facto homeport.

Aug. 29, 2003
Japan’s Defense Agency has requested 142.3 billion yen ($1.21 billion) so it may buy missile defense systems from the United States. Japan is hoping to purchase the Navy’s Standard Missile (SM)-3 interceptors to start a sea-based missile defense and the Army’s Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 interceptors for a land-based deterrent. Japan already has Aegis guided missile destroyers, which would be used to launch SM-3s. The ministry refuses to say how many of the missile defense systems it wants to obtain or where they will be fielded, citing security concerns; it only will say that it hopes to make the entire system operational by March 2006. This move is largely in response to belligerent assertions by North Korea that it could test a ballistic missile in the near future.
(Agence France-Presse, Aug. 29, 2003)

July 08, 2003
Japan solidifies will to deploy missile defenses
Japan’s Defense Agency has decided that it will ask the United States for permission to build the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 missile defense interceptor in Japan by a domestic company. The top contender for the project, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., is currently building the PAC-2 for Japanese usage, thanks to a U.S. licensing agreement. A Japanese Defense Agency spokesperson claims, “Nothing has been decided about the introduction of the PAC-3 and it is still under study as part of the missile defense program.” But Japan is taking steps toward deploying a missile defense of its own. It is reported to be considering a two-phase missile defense system composed of PAC-3 missiles for endo-atmospheric threats and Navy Aegis Standard Missile (SM)-3 interceptors for exo-atmospheric threats; it would cost anywhere from 200 to 500 billion yen and is hoped to be in place by 2007. This is separate from the joint sea-based missile interceptor program begun by Japan and the United States in 1999 and which has cost 13.7 billion yen. Besides the vast outlay of funds, analysts are concerned about whether deploying missile defenses would be contrary to Japan’s constitution.

BMD in Northeast Asia: Chronology 1990-Present (CNS)
East-Asia TMD Conference (Nautilus)
TMD & Northeast Asian Security (NTI) More Documents
TMD Architecture Options for Asia-Pacific Region (DOD) (PDF)

US & UK
June 20,2003
U.S. and U.K. sign missile defense MOU
The United States and the United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding missile defense cooperation. This agreement will pave the way to incorporating the Fylingdales radar into the Ground-based Midcourse missile defense system as an upgraded early warning radar. The United States has unofficially been pushing for this for quite some time but officially asked the British in December 2002. British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon has pointed out that this MOU “prepares the way for fair opportunities to be given to U.K. industry to participate in the U.S. program.” More MOUs are expected which will spell out the extent of Britain’s cooperation, and Hoon cautions that the United Kingdom has not yet committed itself to buy or deploy a missile defense system.
(Defense Daily, June 16, 2003)

US & Australia
July 23,2003
Australia may be asked to participate in U.S. missile defense program
The Weekend Australian reports (July 12, 2003) that the United States may ask Australia if it would like to participate in a layered missile defense system. According to J.D. Crouch, U.S. undersecretary of defense for international security policy, this would probably be in the form of ship-based radars to enhance missile detection and tracking. Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill says that while Australia hasn’t formally decided to participate yet, “The trend has been in that direction.” .

US, UK, Italy & Germany
August 01,2003
MEADS can move ahead, but reservations remain
The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) has received the approval needed from the Pentagon’s Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) to move ahead in its development, but the DAB also has serious concerns about MEADS’ cost, schedule, and architecture. The movable missile defense system, which is a joint program between the United States, Germany and Italy, can shift into the system design and development stage. But the DAB will probably call for a more complete cost estimate of the program; it also questions how exactly MEADS will fit into the overall layered missile defense architecture. This past spring, the United States recommended reorganizing MEADS, a move that its partners may not accept. U.S. officials may not need them after all: the United Kingdom had expressed interest in joining MEADS when it reached the design and development phase.

US & Russia
June 11,2003
U.S.-Russia cooperation on missile defense may be slowed
Missile defense cooperation between the United States and Russia – something both sides have been touting lately – may be held up by political concerns. The recent Bush-Putin summit resulted in a declaration vowing “to develop specific joint projects in the sphere of missile defense.” However, Agence France - Presse reports (June 8, 2003) that according to a senior U.S. official, “specific projects have not yet been identified.” For the U.S. side, the stumbling block may be Russia’s aid to Iran’s nuclear program, while Russian participants worry about handing over sensitive weapon technologies without adequate compensation or assurances of future profit-sharing. Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov warns that it is not realistic to expect tangible results from U.S.-Russia missile defense cooperation, “even in one or two years.”

May 21,2003
Russia considers working with U.S. on missile shield
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday that his country may consider “under a number of conditions” cooperating with the United States on missile defense programs. These conditions include “the preservation of each side's intellectual property, the demilitarization of space and total transparency regarding missile defense” and guarantees that the cooperative U.S.-Russian missile defense programs will not be used against either country. Ivanov is en route to Washington to meet with U.S. officials. Russia and the United States currently cooperate on a joint satellite observation program whose funding has been held up as both sides accuse the other of politicizing the program.
(Agence France-Presse, May 21, 2003)

June 11,2003
NATO & Russia to hold joint missile defense test
On June 4, the NATO-Russia Council announced that the two had agreed to eventually hold joint command post theater missile defense (TMD) exercises in the United States. The timing of these exercises still needs to be decided. A study has already begun on the interoperability of NATO and Russian forces. The statement notes that the ministers’ goal is to establish a “conceptual basis for potential future TMD deployment.” NATO had decided earlier to field a TMD system by 2010, but has not finished studies on what the system architecture will look like. The ministers’ statement can be found at
http://www.nato.int/docu/pr/2003/p030604e.htm.

Washington Times, Jan. 16, 2003; Voice of America, Jan. 15, 2003
Ivanov announces intent to build new missile defense systems
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced on Jan. 15 that Russia "will definitely develop theater missile defense systems, as well as space defenses." He asserted that plans for doing so had been put in motion over a year ago. Ivanov pointed out that Russia was free of any restrictions that arms control agreements - like the now-defunct Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty - would have provided, but he did admit that Russia's missile defense program would be limited by "common sense, technical possibilities, and the state of [its] economy." U.S. officials played down Ivanov's remarks, noting that the United States has made offers to cooperate with Russia on missile defense.