GREELY CONTRACTOR TOUTS LOCAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES, The News-Miner, June 05, 2002. The general contractor for construction of the National Missile Defense test bed site at Fort Greely made it clear to work-seeking Deltans on Tuesday that opportunity is on its way. John Ervin, Fluor Alaska's project manager, said at a forum that local hire is required and that there will be a variety of jobs for subcontractors and workers. Ervin said the 61.4-percent goal for subcontracts to small businesses is not an incentive but a requirement. The company must also meet small-percentage goals for small disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned and HUB-zone businesses. "We have to meet that to get our money," Ervin said. "We're going to have to work hard to meet those goals.”

GLOBAL NEWS BREAKS #14

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2002

NUCLEAR ARMS CONCERN WOLFOWITZ, Associated Press, June 2, 2002. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Sunday that the prospect of terrorists developing nuclear capabilities is "more frightening and dangerous" than nuclear proliferation among nation states. At a regional security conference in Singapore, Wolfowitz said the concern that "nuclear weapons or scientists with nuclear expertise (could) fall into the hands of rogue regimes or terrorist groups is a very, very real one." Maj. Gen. Kim Kook-hun, head of the South Korean defense ministry's arms disarmament bureau, said his government is deeply concerned about North Korea's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction.

WE MUST TAKE BATTLE TO ENEMY, SAYS BUSH, The Daily Telegraph (LONDON), June 03, 2002. President Bush, who called for pre-emptive strikes against tyrants seeking weapons of mass destruction, was offering more than the latest battle plan for the war against terror. White House officials said the president's speech offered a first glimpse of an evolving United States security doctrine for the 21st century. In this vision, America, the sole superpower, has an historic chance to preside over the end of armed conflict among the "great powers.” Instead, danger is threatened by rogue fanatics, wielding chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and missiles to carry them. He noted that America's enemies had declared their intention to obtain chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, along with the ballistic missiles to deliver them, and "have been caught seeking these terrible weapons". Allowing such weapons to spread would mean "even weak states and small groups could attain a catastrophic power to strike great nations". Mr. Bush warned Americans against thinking they could bunker down behind strong defenses, including the planned missile defense shield. "The war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans and confront the worst threats before they emerge."

PATRIOT PAC-3 SYSTEM SCORES PARTIAL SUCCESS AT KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Defense Week, June 3, 2002. An Army Patriot PAC-3 missile hit its intended target in its fourth operational flight test Thursday, but a second missile failed to launch at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Central Pacific. Analysis over the next few weeks will examine why the second missile failed to launch during the operational flight test, a tactical ripple engagement using two PAC-3 missiles against a two-stage target missile, dubbed OT-2. The test, planned for medium-range, high-altitude interception, was to demonstrate the system's ability to properly classify the high-velocity, low-radar signature target as a tactical ballistic missile, discriminate between the reentry vehicle and debris, and to destroy the target. The Kwajalein test was to be the last of the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation by independent testers for the PAC-3 system.

AIR FORCE SPACE VEHICLES DIRECTORATE SUPPORTS MISSILE DEFENSE DEVELOPMENT, New Technology Week, June 3, 2002. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) relies upon the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate for support in a number of technology areas, according to Janet Fender, chief scientist of the directorate. Fender said she perceives the directorate's MDA relationship as being one in which MDA has needs in certain technology areas, and Space Vehicles already has the expertise in these areas, and often has ongoing experiments related to the technologies of interest to MDA. The Space Vehicles Directorate has for a long time been an executing agent for MDA technology development that is aimed at improving space-based passive infrared focal plane arrays and long life cryocoolers. Fender said the directorate is also the executing agent for several early launch detection and tracking technology development efforts. Fender added that Space Vehicles is also supporting MDA's Kinetic Energy Boost Directorate by providing a liquid propellant divert and attitude control module for the Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile interceptor kill vehicle to be used in early critical interceptor flight experiments. "One interaction we're trying to strengthen with MDA, is how satellites will deal with direct descent anti-satellite threats," she said. If a satellite is threatened with something like a kinetic anti-satellite weapon, it is important to know what actions are needed to avoid it, counter it, or recover from damages incurred in such an attack.

NEW MISSILE SHIELD, Agency WPS, June 3, 2002. The agreement on nuclear arms cuts recently signed by Putin and Bush, has drawn a highly ambivalent response in Russia. Leaders of the left-wing opposition say the level of 1,700-2,200 nuclear warheads set in this agreement is not enough to maintain Russia's defense capacity and this number of warheads could be neutralized by the US national missile defense. Andrei Kokoshin, Director of the Institute for International Security Issues at the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes 1,700 warheads are still too many. The capacity of the US missile defense system should not be exaggerated. No "missile umbrella" is capable of neutralizing 1,700 nuclear warheads. According to Kokoshin, Russia needs to develop not only nuclear containment but "pre-nuclear strategic containment." The latest generation of Russian cruise missiles is almost invulnerable to existing anti-missile systems. It is necessary to continue technological research in this area.

BULGARIA AGREES U.S. REQUEST TO DESTROY MISSILES, AFP, May 31, 2002. Bulgaria and the United States signed an agreement on Friday, which commits Sofia to destroying its short- and medium-range missile stocks in return for millions of dollars to pay for the cost of doing so. The US State Department argued that the stockpiles of more than 100 Soviet-designed SS-23, SCUD and FROG missiles were a destabilizing factor in the region. The destruction agreement, which still has to be ratified by the Bulgarian parliament, is seen as being an important step towards Bulgaria meeting basic requirements to join NATO.

U.S. WILL RESUME PRODUCTION OF NUCLEAR WARHEAD TRIGGERS, Associated Press via The New York Times, June 2, 2002. The federal government has announced plans to resume production of plutonium "pits," which are used to trigger nuclear warheads, the Energy Department has announced. The announcement said the site-selection process would begin in September. The department relies on refurbishing triggers, as they are needed, from disassembled warheads. That limited production, cannot meet long-term needs, officials said.

ALDRIDGE TO CLARIFY ‘SPIRAL DEVELOPMENT,’ Defense News, June 3-9, 2002. The Pentagon’s top acquisition official is working to iron out confusion about key weapon-buying policies. Edward "Pete" Aldridge, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, is staking reform of the Pentagon’s weapon acquisition process, which usually takes two decades, to two concepts: evolutionary acquisition and spiral development. Because spiral development marks a break with widespread procurement practices of the past Aldridge was compelled to better explain the new process. In October, the Pentagon codified rules that require an incremental approach to fielding new military technology called evolutionary acquisition. Evolutionary acquisition calls for using upgrades to improve weapons as they age instead of creating whole new weapon systems. Within each of these block improvements, the U.S. military weapon acquisition community now is required to implement the other prong of the new procurement approach: spiral development, which is an iterative method for developing a defined set of capabilities.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2002

AIROBRNE LASER AIRCRAFT POISED FOR FIRST FLIGHT, Jane's Defense Weekly, June 5, 2002. Of all the new weapon systems planned for the US Air Force (USAF), service leaders say they consider the Airborne Laser (ABL), truly transformational because it will revolutionize warfare. Now, after almost a decade of development, the USAF and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are poised to begin flying the first ABL test aircraft in the next several months and move what they say is one step closer to an operational system. Loitering at altitudes around 40,000ft, the ABL system is designed to destroy boosting ballistic missiles with a multi-megawatt laser beam that travels at the speed of light over great distances. The high-energy beam, which will be about the diameter of a basketball, will heat the side of a missile until it fails structurally and tumbles to earth. The ABL system is carried aboard a modified Boeing 747-400F commercial freighter aircraft. It will house a high-energy chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL), sophisticated beam-control system with adaptive, 'deformable' mirrors to accurately point and fire the laser through atmospheric disturbances, and a battle management, command-and-control system that can simultaneously track and prioritize potential targets.

NORTH KOREA REJECTS U.S. CONGRESSMEN’S PROPOSED VISIT, Korea Times, June 4, 2002. North Korea rejected the proposed visit by a U.S. bipartisan delegation led by Rep. Curt Weldon, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Procurement Subcommittee. Weldon and 12 other members of the House of Representatives sought to visit the reclusive nation to discuss matters of mutual concern, including the resumption of the stalled dialogue between the United States and North Korea. The delegation also sought to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. North Korea said the timing was not appropriate and the delegation size was too large, as reasons for refusing the proposed visit, according to Weldon. Weldon and the delegates who left here yesterday after a brief stay said they would press head with efforts to realize the visit to North Korea again by mobilizing private channels. ''The North also expressed willingness to consider our visit at a later date despite the recent refusal,'' Weldon said. ''The North appears hesitant to receive U.S. Congressmen as it is set to hold official talks with the U.S. State Department's special envoy,'' said an official, asking not to be identified. Other sources said North Korea seems to harbor dissatisfaction with Weldon as he has been a fervent supporter of the Bush administration's stances on many foreign policy issues, including the Missile Defense (MD) program.

INDIA, PAKISTAN GIVE NO GROUND AT ALMATY SUMMIT, Reuters, June 4, 2002. Indian and Pakistani leaders sat down at the same table for the first time in five months on Tuesday, but stuck to the same positions over Kashmir that have brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors to the brink of war. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said his country was ready to talk to Pakistan over Kashmir, but he insisted cross-border incursions had to stop first. Earlier, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf pledged his country would not start a war with India. India blames bloody attacks on its parliament last December and on an army camp in Kashmir in May on Islamic militants based in Pakistan, and has demanded an end to infiltrations. Pakistan denies it supports the militants and has vowed to crack down on cross-border incursions. Russia and China plan separate talks with India and Pakistan later on Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin, mindful of strategic interests such as possible routes for oil and gas pipelines, has led the latest mediation efforts. China's President Jiang Zemin too is keen to cool regional tensions. In Barbados, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday he was pleased India and Pakistan recognized the "horrible" dangers of nuclear weapons, and insisted Washington would maintain diplomatic pressure to keep them from war.

OFEQ-5 SPY SATELLITE TRANSMITTING HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES, Defense News, June 03, 2002. Israel’s Ofeq-5 spy satellite has begun transmitting high-resolution images to Israel’s National Space Center ground station based at Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI) site in Yehud. Defense and industry sources here say they received the first images by midday, May 31 — less than 72 hours after the satellite’s May 28 launch — and are now assured of the satellite’s full operational capability. “The Ofeq-5 works. All of its vital functions are now in complete working order and it is answering all our requirements,” said Rachel Naidek-Askhenazi, spokeswoman for Israel’s Ministry of Defense (MoD). In a June 2 interview, Naidek-Ashkenazi said the MoD is unlikely to release additional details of the satellite, since Israel’s intelligence-gathering methods in general — and its space-based intelligence programs in particular — remain classified.

HOUSE PANEL PLANS TO SCRUTINIZE PENTAGON’S CRUSADER DECISION, Aerospace Daily, June 4, 2002. The House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee plans to hold a closed-door hearing June 5 to scrutinize the Pentagon's recent decision to kill the Army's Crusader artillery system and shift the money to precision munitions and rocket systems. Witnesses are expected to include E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; Michael Wynne, the deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; and Lt. Gen. John Caldwell, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology; and Gen. Montgomery Meigs, commanding general of the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army.

MBDA POSITIONS TO ENTER U.S. MARKET FOR BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE WORK, Defense Daily, June 4, 2002. Just six months after its formal consolidation, Europe's largest missile manufacturer, MBDA, is positioning to get a bigger piece of work in the U.S. plans for eventual creation of a trans-Atlantic ballistic missile defense (BMD) program. "Our biggest prospect for entry into the American market is in the area of BMD," Fabrice Bregier, MBDA chief executive officer, told reporters. While the separate business components that now make up MBDA on their own may not have been previously seen as serious players for BMD work by the U.S. defense industry and Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Bregier and other MBDA executives contend that trend is changing dramatically. And negotiations for participation with U.S. companies like Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT], which are leading the U.S. National industry team (NIT) for missile defense, are on the rise, according to MBDA officials. MBDA is a result of a merger of the missile business of Britain's BAE SYSTEMS with that of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) and Italy's Finmeccanica. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of MDA, in February told the House Armed Services Committee that expanded international cooperation for ballistic missile defense programs was on the horizon. At that time, Kadish said he was on the verge of proposing "some ideas" to the DoD leadership for improving cooperation with the allies.

ARMY OFFICIALS FEAR MORE CUTS, Washington Times, June 4, 2002. Army officials believe they are in the cross hairs of Pentagon civilian policy-makers who want a smaller land force. Officers say they fear Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's cancellation of the Crusader howitzer last month is only the first round in shrinking the Army to meet 21st-century threats. The Army fought off bids by Mr. Rumsfeld's aides last year to eliminate two of 10 active divisions. Mr. Rumsfeld's policy staff harbors a completely different long-term vision of the Army than do some of its senior generals, according to interviews with active and retired officers and congressional staffers. Within the Pentagon, word is being passed that Mr. Rumsfeld's team eventually wants an active Army of eight or fewer light-infantry divisions.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2002

AS ABM TREATY WITHDRAWAL LOOMS, LAWMAKERS PONDER SUIT, CQ Monitor News, June 4, 2002. Supporters of the soon-to-expire Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty think they have one more weapon in their arsenal to protect the treaty: a lawsuit. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio, confirmed Tuesday night that he and a group of lawmakers are close to making a decision on whether to file a lawsuit or seek an injunction intended to protect the treaty. Whatever they do, Kucinich and the others agreed they need to do it fast. The treaty is set to expire June 13. President Bush notified Russia in December that the United States would withdraw from the treaty, which blocks research into technology that would blast incoming missiles out of the sky. "More and more people are realizing that the withdrawal from the treaty has far-reaching implications," Kucinich said. Supporters of the treaty argue that the Senate had to ratify it, and therefore it ought to have the right to approve any withdrawal. But several Senate opponents of a withdrawal, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., stated back in December that they would not make an issue of the president’s decision.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONCERN WOLFOWITZ, AP via Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network Daily Report, June 3, 2002.US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Sunday that the prospect of terrorists developing nuclear capabilities is "more frightening and dangerous" than nuclear proliferation among nation states. At a regional security conference in Singapore, Wolfowitz said the concern that "nuclear weapons or scientists with nuclear expertise (could) fall into the hands of rogue regimes or terrorist groups is a very, very real one." Robert Einhorn, a former assistant secretary of state and a nuclear proliferation expert, said Southeast Asian ports in particular need to beef up security to help stem nuclear proliferation. "Governments should put in place strong shipment and transshipment controls to reduce the likelihood that their countries will become conduits for the ingredients of weapons of mass destruction programs worldwide," Einhorn said.

UNARMED PEACEKEEPER LAUNCHED IN TEST, Associated Press, June 3, 2002. An unarmed 70-foot Peacekeeper missile was launched early Monday in a routine test of the country’s intercontinental ballistic missile system. The 198,000-pound missile lifted off from the central California coast at 1:01 a.m. and sent nine unarmed re-entry vehicles toward a target 4,800 miles away on the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands. The missile used in the test was randomly selected from missiles at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., as part of the routine program to verify the reliability of the country’s intercontinental ballistic missile force, the Air Force said in a statement. The test was considered successful, the statement said.

Vulnerable India Eyes Israeli Defenses, Missile Defense Briefing Report No. 56, American Foreign Policy Council, June 4, 2002. Escalating tensions with rival Pakistan have revived New Delhi's focus on missile defense. The May 30th issue of the Times of India featured an interview with Indian defense analyst Bharat Karnad, who underscored that India has no protection against the nuclear-capable "Ghuari" ballistic missile recently tested by Islamabad. While the Indian government has acquired several units of the Russian S-300 air defense system, the country so far lacks comprehensive theater missile defenses, according to Karnad. Such defenses can only be obtained through the acquisition of Israel's Arrow-2 system, which can detect missiles from 500 kilometers away and intercept them at a distance of 50-90 kilometers, the defense analyst stressed.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2002

ABL CHIEF SAYS PROGRAM DELAY NOT A PROBLEM, Space & Missile, June 6, 2002. Although the Airborne Laser's missile shoot down demonstration has been delayed for one year, ABL chief Air Force Col. Ellen M. Pawlikowski told SMD Report in a recent interview that she doesn't view the delay as a setback for the program, and is not worried in the least. In fact, the extra time now available will allow ABL's scientists and engineers to be sure their technologies are fully mature when the 747 aircraft goes aloft to shoot down its first missile. Asked about the reason for the time frame slippage, Pawlikowski said when Air Force Gen. Ronald Kadish took over last October, he came to Wichita and reviewed the program's progress. His conclusion said it would be prudent to allow more time for the development and testing of ABL's various systems, and for their integration into the 747-400 freighter aircraft. "We showed him what our schedule looked like," she said, "and, you know, he is a man that's had a lot of experience in acquisition, and has also taken a lot of pressure in the missile defense business about test failures and things related to them, so he said, 'Look, I want you to go back and look at the schedule and I want you to give me a higher confidence schedule, if you had more time.' " She said that when the ABL people looked at the schedule, and scrutinized all of the project durations, they saw that it would be better if they had allowed more time here and there, so when all of that was stretched out, that's what added up to a full year's delay in the projected shoot down date.

PATRIOT PAC-3 SYSTEM SCORES PARTIAL SUCCESS AT KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Space & Missile, June 6, 2002. An Army Patriot PAC-3 missile hit its intended target in its fourth operational flight test May 30, but a second missile failed to launch at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Central Pacific. Analysis over the next few weeks will examine why the second missile failed to launch during the operational flight test, a tactical ripple engagement using two PAC-3 missiles against a two-stage target missile, dubbed OT-2. The test was the first for the missile-defense system at the Marshall Islands site. The site allows the use of a longer-range ballistic missile target than could be used at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., a Missile Defense Agency spokeswoman said. The PAC-3 missile is the first purpose-built missile for ballistic-missile engagement.

NEW THAAD FACILITY, Space & Missile, June 6, 2002. Lockheed Martin broke ground May 29 in Troy, Ala. on a new production facility for the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System that will eventually provide additional jobs for Pike County residents. The state-of-the-art facility will serve as the final assembly site for the $4.1 billion THAAD Weapon System, which is slated to have First Unit Equipped with U.S. forces in 2007. THAAD and the lower-tier PAC-3 Missile, the newest version of the Patriot missile, will provide an umbrella of protection for our soldiers and assets throughout the world.

AIRBORNE LASER MOVES TOWARD FLIGHT-WORTHINESS, Space & Missile, June 6, 2002. The first Airborne Laser (ABL) ballistic missile-defense system aircraft is progressing toward flight-worthiness testing in Wichita, Kan., according to prime contractor Boeing. ABL has passed a significant marker in the life of the Block 2004 aircraft development contract with Team ABL: The Boeing Company and its teammates Lockheed Martin and TRW. The aircraft is ready to accept the heart of the ABL system- its sophisticated tracking and high-energy laser system. The revolutionary aircraft has been moved to the flight ramp at the Boeing modification center, and is preparing it for ground- and flight-tests later this summer. Aircraft 00-0001 is the initial airborne platform for the ABL system. "The successful completion of the modification work in Wichita keeps us on track toward first flight of the modified aircraft this summer and later, integration of the laser system hardware at Edwards," said Scott Fancher, Boeing vice president and ABL program director.

BUSH SEEKS TO RATIFY NEW NUKE TREATY, AP via Yahoo! News, June 6, 2002. President Bush summoned lawmakers Wednesday to press for Senate approval this year of the nuclear arms reduction treaty that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed last month. But the senators expressed concern that Russia doesn't have the money to safely store warheads deactivated under the treaty. Bush called to the White House Sens. Joe Biden, D-Del. chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to discuss the new treaty. The president told them he has a "hope and expectation" the Senate will ratify the treaty "before this Congress was over," Biden said afterward. Congressional leaders have set an Oct. 4 target date for adjournment, but the session is almost certain to last longer. After the Oval Office meeting, Biden said he foresaw a half-dozen Senate hearings on the three-page treaty. He predicted it would reach the full Senate by fall. Both senators said they were concerned about how Russia will store nuclear material from decommissioned warheads, and whether the material can be kept out of terrorists' hands without additional U.S. financial assistance. Lugar said he urged Bush to certify that Russia had met conditions to receive U.S. funds for Nunn-Lugar efforts. In April, the Bush administration said it will hold back on some disarmament projects with Russia because of concerns over Moscow's compliance with chemical and biological weapons treaties. The speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house said after the treaty signing in April that he sees no obstacles to Russian ratification of a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States. He said it probably would not happen until autumn.

EXPERTS MULL USE OF MULTIPLE SMALL KILL VEHICLES FOR MISSILE DEFENSE, Inside The Pentagon, June 6, 2002. Concerned that countermeasures could foil planned U.S. missile defense systems, the Senate Armed Services Committee is calling on the Defense Department to study the deployment of several small kill vehicles on individual interceptors to increase the chances of destroying enemy warheads. In its report on the fiscal year 2003 defense authorization bill, the committee recommends spending $10 million to examine possibilities for small kill vehicle development. Contacted last week, Air Force Lt. Col. Richard Lehner, a Missile Defense Agency spokesman, declined to comment on whether the proposed study is a good idea. "At this point, we don't have any direction to do this type of research and development," he said concerning the possibility of integrating multiple small kill vehicles onto individual ballistic missile interceptors. Baker Spring, a Heritage Foundation national security research fellow, also said the multiple small kill vehicle concept for ballistic missile defense is worth investigating. In a June 4 interview, Spring pointed out that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, from which the United States has decided to withdraw, would prohibit development of multiple small kill vehicles on single interceptors. On June 14, the United States will no longer be a party to the treaty. Under agreed statement "E," the ABM Treaty states each party pledges "not to develop, test or deploy ABM interceptor missiles for the delivery by each ABM interceptor missile of more than one independently guided warhead." "When we can use technology in a way to expedite getting a limited and effective system in place, I think we should do that...including exploring new opportunities provided by withdrawing from the ABM Treaty," Spring said.

U.S. CLAIMS PROOF OF CUBA’S GERM WAR PROJECT, The Guardian, June 6, 2002. The state department head of intelligence said yesterday that the US had "substantial information" that Cuba was developing biological weapons and exporting dual-use technology, which could be used for germ warfare, to Iran. Carl Ford, assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, told a Senate committee that he would only provide the evidence to a closed-door session later in the day, but he insisted that it was convincing.

FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2002

U.S. CONSIDERS EUROPEAN ROLE FOR MISSILE DEFENSE PROGRAMS, Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2002. Pentagon officials are drafting a plan to give European military contractors a share in money earmarked to develop missile-defense systems, aiming to blunt uneasiness about U.S. military policies and encourage participation by close allies. The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, which is overseeing the development of a broad array of missile-defense systems, is "far along" in crafting a cooperation plan, a Pentagon official said. Plan details will be nailed down internally in coming months, the official added. The plan is focused on the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, and could provide for some involvement by foreign governments and their military contractors. U.S. officials have discussed the idea of missile-defense cooperation with foreign nations. Pentagon officials have talked to European military contractors, including Britain's BAE Systems PLC, France's Thales SA and the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., about the possibility of participating in U.S. missile-defense projects. Efforts in this area focus primarily on protecting the continental U.S and U.S. fighting forces overseas.

HOUSE DEFEATS CHALLENGE TO MISSILE TREATY PULLOUT, Washington Post, June 7, 2002. The House defeated a bid by Democrats to force a vote on President Bush's decision to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The House voted 254 to 169 to bar the challenge to Bush's plan to pull out of the treaty signed 30 years ago with the Soviet Union to bar deployment of national missile defense systems. The withdrawal becomes effective on June 13. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) pressed for a House vote on the treaty, saying Bush was overriding congressional powers and acting unilaterally to repeal the law. Bush announced plans in December to pull out of the treaty that was revised over the years with Russia, which he saw as an impediment to protecting the nation from missiles fired by rogue nations or terrorists. "The Constitution empowers Congress to establish laws, and charges the president with carrying out these laws. Nowhere does it give the president power to repeal laws -- only Congress has the authority to undo its legislative work," Kucinich said.

U.S. ADVANCES PLAN TO GIVE EU COST SHARE OF DEFENSE SHIELD CONTRACTS -- REPORT, AFX European Focus, June 7, 2002. The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency is forging ahead with a plan to give European military contractors a share in money earmarked to develop US missile-defense systems, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Pentagon official. The agency is "far along" in crafting a cooperation plan focused on the UK, France, Germany and Italy. Companies that Pentagon officials have talked to include BAE Systems PLC, Thales SA and the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co, it said. The gesture is intended to blunt uneasiness about US military policies and encourage participation by close allies. Plan details will be finalized internally in the coming months.

EXPERT: AN END SHOULD BE PUT TO THE CONFLICT OR DESTABILIZATION WILL AFFECT THE WHOLE REGION, Agency WPS, June 7, 2002. On May 30, the Turkmenbashi (Saparmurat Niyazov), Khamid Karzai, and Pervez Musharraf signed an agreement on construction of a pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to the Pakistani coast. The project will also benefit India, which needs Turkmen gas. Unfortunately, Vajpai and Musharraf do not want compromises for the time being, and India would not hear of international mediators. There are some truly alarming symptoms as well: Pakistan is moving the troops from the Afghani direction to Kashmir. Talibs and Al Qaeda need tension in Kashmir. They have been trying to distract the West from the war on international terrorism in Afghanistan to some other country. Domestic situation in both countries remains complicated too. In the meantime, there is a simple solution: acceptance of the control line dividing the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir as a state border. It merely has to be accepted and that is that, no concessions on anybody's part will be needed.

MDA PREPARES FOR UPCOMING GMD, SMD FLIGHT TESTS, Defense Daily, June 7, 2002. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) plans to conduct the next flight test in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program in early to mid-August, DoD officials said yesterday. The specific test date has not been selected yet as test range availability is being determined, an official said. Initially, the MDA had been aiming to conduct the Integrated Flight Test-9 (IFT-9) in July. The scheduling in August is not related to a technical issue, but rather a range scheduling issue, officials said. Meanwhile, MDA and the Navy also plan to conduct the next intercept in the Sea-based Midcourse Defense (SMD) program on Thursday. MDA and the Navy scored a hit in the last SMD test on Jan. 25. During that last SMD flight test, a Raytheon [RTN] Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) with a kinetic warhead was launched from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70) toward an Aries target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii. About eight minutes later, Lake Erie used its Lockheed Martin [LMT] Aegis SPY-1 radar and combat system to track the target and launch the interceptor. The SM-3 acquired, tracked and diverted toward the target, demonstrating SM-3 fourth-stage kinetic warhead's guidance, navigation and control, MDA and the Navy said. Then the interceptor hit the target. Next week's SM-3 intercept test is planned to follow the same scenario. Meanwhile, MDA is sticking with its decision to keep classified the details of the targets and countermeasures that will be used in all future GMD flight tests (Defense Daily, May 15).

RUSSIAN TESTS NEW BALLISTIC MISSILE, AFP via Space Daily.com, June 6, 2002. Russia launched a successful test Thursday of its new intercontinental ballistic missile Topol-M, which is set to replace Moscow's current arsenal of SS-18 missiles, the Interfax-AVN agency reported. The Topol-M, the equivalent of the US Minuteman-3, hit its target in Russia's far-east more than 7000 kilometers (around 4,000 miles) from its launch in the northwest of the country.

RUSSIA TO START RATIFICATION PROCESS, Johnson's Russia List #6294, June 7, 2002. Russian lawmakers may start debating a landmark nuclear arms treaty as early as next week. Just weeks after it was signed by President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior Russian legislator said Thursday. Putin has yet to formally submit the treaty for ratification, Rogozin said. U.S. lawmakers also complained that the treaty does not provide verification measures essential for tracking Russian arsenals. Russian officials, however, point out that it was U.S. officials who insisted on a pared-down treaty without verification mechanisms. Russia also opposed the U.S. demand that the countries be allowed to store decommissioned warheads instead of destroying them.

STATE DEPARTMENT REAFFIRMS CUBA HAS BIOLOGICAL WARFARE RESEARCH EFFORT, U.S. State Department Arms Control Digest, June 7, 2002. A State Department official has reaffirmed the Bush administration's belief that Cuba has a "limited, developmental, offensive biological warfare research and development effort" and that the Caribbean nation has provided "dual-use biotechnology to rogue states." Testifying June 5 before a Senate subcommittee, Carl Ford, assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, said the United States is "concerned that such technology could support biological warfare programs" in those rogue nations.

SPACE AND MISSILE DEFENSE COMMAND MAY VANISH IN U.S. ARMY REORGANIZATION. CRITICS SAY PROPOSAL IS AT ODDS WITH RUMSFELD’S TOP PRIORITIES, Jeremy Singer, Washington, Space News, 27 May 2002.

Top U.S. Army leaders are considering dissolving several major organizations, including the Space and Missile Defense Command, according to former U.S. Defense Department officials. The Army is examining those options as part of a review intended to streamline that service's major command structure. The review is expected to wrap up shortly, the officials said. John W. McDonald, deputy undersecretary of the Army for international affairs, is leading the effort, which is called the "Realignment of Major Army Commands and Field Operating Agencies" study. The proposal to close the Space and Missile Defense Command has won support from the Army's civilian leadership, but has met resistance from uniformed leaders, the former Defense Department officials said.

The proposal to close the Space and Missile Defense Command would likely eliminate the three-star general officer billet currently held by Lt. Gen. Joseph Cosumano. The person in that job is the Army's highest-ranking officer responsible for a space-related program and usually the top advocate for Army space programs, the officials said.

A voice in decision-making is powerful only if it is backed by high rank or a large funding contribution, and the Army does not contribute nearly as much funding to space as the Air Force or the Navy, the officials said. Maj. Chris Conway, a spokesman at Army headquarters, did not return telephone calls requesting comment for this article. Mike Biddle, a spokesman for the Space and Missile Defense Command, declined to comment. If the Army Missile and Space Command is eliminated, its functions would be absorbed within several other Army organizations, the officials said.

The acquisition function, for example, would be folded into Army Material Command,

while Army Space Command would be absorbed by the Army Forces Command. The development of system requirements would become the responsibility of the service's Training and Doctrine Command, the officials said. Funding intended for space and missile defense work could be siphoned off for other Army purposes if the money has to flow through the other organizations, the officials said. Spreading the various Army space and missile defense functions across several organizations would contrast with the space reorganization proposed by a commission headed by Donald H. Rumsfeld, now the U.S. secretary of defense. Based on that Commission's recommendations, the U.S. Air Force has consolidated most space offices under a single chain of command headed by Air Force Under secretary Peter B. Teets, the officials said.

Space and missile defense have been two of the top agenda items that Rumsfeld has expressed in speeches, and reducing the authority behind those functions seems out of place at the present time, the officials said. The Space and Missile Defense Command traces its roots back to 1967, when the Army established its first missile defense program office. It became a major Army command in 1997.