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Missile defense plan seen ready by fall
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military hopes to complete work this fall on a plan mapping out how regional commanders will be able to use the fledgling U.S. missile defense system, a top general said on Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defend Command, told industry executives and congressional aides he expected the so-called "concept of operations" to be done by October or November.
He said it marked the first time the military had tried to draft such a plan for a specific capability across the military's regional commands.
Dodgen hailed a recent successful test of a missile-shield component built by Lockheed Martin Corp. to shoot down a ballistic missile in the last minute or so of its flight.
The so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon system, or THAAD, "exceeded its objectives" in the long-planned test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Lockheed said in a statement earlier this month.
Dodgen agreed, saying the THAAD missiles would "pay for themselves many times over."
He also mentioned plans to deploy missile interceptors in Japan, and said officials were still weighing where to place interceptors in Europe.
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military hopes to complete work this fall on a plan mapping out how regional commanders will be able to use the fledgling U.S. missile defense system, a top general said on Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defend Command, told industry executives and congressional aides he expected the so-called "concept of operations" to be done by October or November.
He said it marked the first time the military had tried to draft such a plan for a specific capability across the military's regional commands.
Dodgen hailed a recent successful test of a missile-shield component built by Lockheed Martin Corp. to shoot down a ballistic missile in the last minute or so of its flight.
The so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon system, or THAAD, "exceeded its objectives" in the long-planned test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Lockheed said in a statement earlier this month.
Dodgen agreed, saying the THAAD missiles would "pay for themselves many times over."
He also mentioned plans to deploy missile interceptors in Japan, and said officials were still weighing where to place interceptors in Europe.
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