National Missile Defense and Alaska

Publication Date: July 2001

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Keywords: Military and defense policy--Military equipment and weapons

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Coverage: Alaska

Abstract:

In mid-July 2001, the Bush Administration announced that it would seek funding to develop a Ballistic Missile Test Bed, which would be used to prove various aspects of a national missile defense capability. The test bed would be oriented in the Pacific and would make use of early warning radars at Beale Air Force Base (California) and Cobra Dane at Shemya Island, and use the Kodiak Launch Facility in Alaska to launch targets and interceptors. The test bed could also include up to five ground-based silos at Fort Greeley Alaska. If directed, the BMD test bed could provide a basis for a contingency missile defense capability against long-range ballistic missile threats as early as about 2004. The concept for possible deployment of a limited missile defense system was developed previously by the Clinton Administration. The recent proposal already has generated considerable controversy in Congress and overseas. This report will be updated as necessary.