U.S. grapples with missile defense command, control

Published: Mar 23, 2006
Source: www.navytimes.com



Though the Pentagon is pushing ahead with the purchase and installation of several key components of missile defense systems, U.S. military officials are still trying to figure out critical operational details, a top U.S. commander said March 20.

“As you look at the ballistic missile defense system that we are fielding, the question is, how do we do global command and control,” Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said at the 4th Annual Missile Defense conference in Washington, organized by the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

“Each combatant commander thinks he owns it,” Cartwright said, but the sensors used to track enemy missiles have multiple functions. “If on any given day a sensor in the Pacific has to go down for maintenance, what are the implications for intelligence operations, space — and how do we manage that?”continue..