Czech officials urge business deals in missile shield project

Czech officials on Wednesday called for their country to benefit from specific industrial spin-offs if a US defensive missile shield is to be sited in the Czech Republic. "This is not only a strategic alliance, it is not only a military alliance but it is also a business alliance that we want to promote," Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar told a meeting that is to lay the ground for a cooperation agreement.

Czech Deputy Defence Minister Martin Bartak told the two-day missile shield seminar: "We need specific projects."

"In less than a year, negotiations have made good progress," he added, but regretted that the "partnership has been only on a political level".

The Czech Republic and Poland have difficult decisions to make on hosting parts of the shield, amid Russian fury at the prospect of US interceptor missiles based so close to its borders.

The only real concern for Russia is that the interceptor site has interceptors in it. They can do the (sub) orbital geometry calculations just as well as us. They know that if they launched ICBMs from Russia over the pole at us, interceptors fired from Europe would be in a tail-chase and ineffective. (never mind the overwhelming numerical advantage)

Their real, and valid IMHO, concern is that what gets loaded into those silos are in fact simple kinetic energy interceptors. What they absolutely do not want is a US IRBM sitting on their doorstep. Something that could do a depressed trajectory shot and be in Moscow in just a few minutes with a multi-megaton surprise. Once all the political posturing is put aside, I think some simple inspections and verifications on-site by Russian personnel will solve this one.

As for the Czechs wanting some industrial return... This isn't exactly a high-volume business with a big market to go after. I'm not sure how much work could be outsourced to them.

The US doesnt have a single IRBM in its inventory any more...all the Pershings were destroyed. Supposedly we got around the treaty limit on IRBM’s with cruise missiles...but, IMHO, Russia is posturing simply to give the illusion that the US is the “necessary” enemy again in an effort to distract Russians from the criminals in their own government...SOSDD

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