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Missile defense plan seen ready by fall Andrea Shalal-Esa / Reuters | July 26 2006 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. The United States last month activated its ground-based interceptor missile-defense system ahead of a test-launch of North Korean missiles on July 5. North Korea defied international warnings and fired seven missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula. Dodgen said the missiles were not in the air long enough to learn much about them, but the U.S. military was still studying its data. The United States has built up a complex of interceptor missiles, advanced radar stations and data relays designed to detect and shoot down an enemy missile, but tests of the system have had mixed results. It is based on the concept of using one missile to shoot down another before it can reach its target. The United States has installed nine interceptors in silos at Fort Greely in Alaska and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In addition, U.S. Navy vessels with long-range tracking and surveillance capability ply the Sea of Japan. Dodgen said further improvements would include placement of additional interceptor missiles, more sensors and further development of the system's capabilities, including better defenses against cruise missiles. ---------------------------------------------------
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