Airstrip One

European Missile Agency - 5th December 2002, 23.19

This one is an older article but provides a brief synopsis on the visit of the director of the Missile Defence Agency, Lieutenant General Ronald Kadish's visit to Fylingdales in mid-November. The US is continuing to test the technology and negotiate with favoured allies for the bases required to establish the system. Kadish stated that the technology would be available within five years.

Russia had already proposed a European missile defence system in 2001, partially as an attempt to forestall co-operation with the United States.

European countries had already invested considerable resources in theatre missile defence systems during the 1990s although Britain's contribution was rather poor in this regard. However, they had not explored the option of national missile defence because of its potential in undermining accepted treaties on arms control.

However, as this paper by Mark Bromley concluded in May 2001,

With the serious endeavours of several European states, and the Bush administration’s own strong efforts, missile defence programmes remain a top talking point among the allies. Of serious concern is the possibility that European countries will be unable to maintain a strong opposition to US NMD plans if they continue to invest heavily in TMD capabilities of their own. Also of concern is the possibility that Europe’s nascent TMD systems will be drawn into an overarching ‘global’ missile defence system being considered by the Bush administration. In the absence of in-depth public debate, the possibility exists of a gradual slide towards increased European acceptance of missile defence systems as a legitimate means of resolving real or supposed security threats. This slide would undoubtedly be supported by an ambitious European defence industry and a US administration eager to fend off the opposition to its own NMD plans.

This process appears to be currently at work within Great Britain.