The European Theater Missile Defense Program - A Field for International Cooperation

Abstract

Abstract : One of the primary impact of the Gulf War on Western opinion was to underline the reality of a ballistic missile threat. The USA subsequently gave top priority to the development of a system against tactical ballistic missiles as part of the National Missile Defense program. NATO and the WEU has agreed it needs capabilities to defend the entire spectrum of air threats including tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs), tactical aerodynamic missiles (TAMs), and manned aircraft (MA) through an extension of the existing Integrated Air Defense System (IADS). This research concentrates on Theater Missile Defense, compares the US program and the European approaches in NATO and WEU and analyzes the current European dependence on US assets, especially on space assets for early warning and reconnaissance, and the current limited capabilities of the European NATO allies in active ballistic missile defense issues. Furthermore it looks for fields of equal and fair multinational cooperation as a way to reduce costs and to optimize limited resources by sharing technology and capabilities. It shows that the European industries are capable to develop military space assets and able to participate in multinational cooperation's. It also shows, that it is very difficult in Europe and NATO to bring all nations together for the developing of an European Ballistic Missile Defense architecture and to provide the necessary funding.