MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The missile defense means available to the United States are capable of countering any missile threat coming from rogue states, Maj. Gen. Vladimir Vasilenko, the chief researcher at the Defense Ministry's Fourth Research Institute (TsNII), said at a conference in Moscow.
The U.S. has 900 interceptor missiles. "Even now the American missile defense system has over 900 anti-missiles of various types, of which about 100 have a certain potential to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles," he said.
Although the current missile defense system is sufficient to defend the U.S, the country continues to develop and enlarge it. "The U.S. is weighing plans for further quantitative and qualitative enhancement of the missile defense system's capabilities," Vasilenko said.
The U.S. does not plan to slow the pace of purchasing anti-missiles until 2016. Given this, the number of interceptor missiles in the American missile defense system "could, in the near future, top the maximum number of the Russian strategic nuclear forces' strategic warheads, set in the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty," Vasilenko said.
"The projected U.S. global missile shield will encompass elements of various basing, guaranteeing interception of intercontinental ballistic missiles at all possible stages of the flight," he said.
Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) ship-based systems, advanced air-based systems with laser weapons, land-based systems and space-based missile defense systems could be used to intercept launched missiles, he said.
In an active phase of the flight, missiles could be destroyed by long-range interceptor missile systems, by Standard ship-based missile systems, mobile missile systems and Patriot land-based missile systems, Vasilenko said.
Combat-control and communications elements of the American missile defense system will encompass low-orbit and high-orbit satellite systems, long-range detection radars, mobile land-based and sea-based radars, and air-based optical-electronic means, he said.
The proposed missile defense system will employ existing and projected know-how, as well as the know-how stock created under the Star Wars program. "In our opinion, the projected global American missile defense system will also take in the accomplishments made in the previous years, including under the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program," Vasilenko said.