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Enhanced Navy role mentioned in president's missile defense announcement Date published: 9/19/2009
BY RUSTY DENNEN President Obama's decision to scrap the Bush administration's proposed missile shield in Europe prominently featured a Navy missile-defense program headquartered at Dahlgren. The president on Thursday said the first stage of his plan would use Aegis ships armed with interceptors, giving the military more mobility for the system. That would be combined with a new, more mobile radar to track any missiles launched from Iran. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, a tenant command at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren in King George County, would be involved. Aegis, the shield of Zeus in Greek mythology, is a fast, computerized shipboard weapons system developed at Dahlgren. It uses the latest radar technology to detect and engage threats. John Antonelli, spokesman for Aegis BMD at Dahlgren, yesterday referred questions on the possible impact here of the decision to the office of the secretary of defense. Rick Lehner, spokesman for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said it's too early for details. "It isn't known yet how the Aegis program office at Dahlgren will be affected in terms of additional personnel," he wrote in an e-mail. He did say that the Missile Defense Agency plans to buy more than 300 Standard Missile 3 interceptors over the next several years for worldwide operations. And development of a larger interceptor with greater range "will continue with the potential for both land and sea basing." Aegis BMD opened in October 2007 and is expanding its presence in King George. The program was instrumental in the high-stakes shoot-down last year of an errant spy satellite over the Pacific. The system is designed to complement the land-based Patriot system, which can intercept short-range ballistic missiles in their final phase of flight. Aegis BMD is a field component of the Naval Sea Systems Command and Missile Defense Agency. In March the Navy announced that Dahlgren would house a new component of the nation's missile defense--the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command. Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, said at the time that with growing missile threats from countries such as Iran and North Korea, the command will be the Navy's lead organization and a center of excellence to address combined air and missile defense concerns. Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
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