Israel, Germany, Japan, Italy emerge as U.S. partners on missile defense
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, August 7, 2001
WASHINGTON Ñ Germany, Israel, Italy and Japan are said to be the
leading partners of the United States in the construction of a missile
umbrella promoted by the Bush administration.
These four countries are cooperating in missile defense research in
various programs with Washington. They are focusing on protecting territory
or warships and military bases from short- and medium-range missiles from
such adversaries as Iran, Iraq, Libya and North Korea.
Officials said the range of projects could be linked to form a worldwide
missile shield for U.S. allies. These include the $216 million Medium
Extended Air Defense System that brings together Germany and Italy in a
mobile defense system against short-range missiles.
Washington has signed an accord with Japan for research on
advanced missile components, such as advanced sea-based interceptor and
infrared sensors. With Israel, the United States is cooperating to advanced
the Arrow-2 interceptor and a high-energy laser.
In addition, the Bush administration is discussing joint research with
Britain on an advanced radar to detect missile launches and distinguish
missiles from decoys. The radar would use both S-band and X-band radars.
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