U.S. Patriot missiles to be deployed near Russian border: Polish DM

[StarfarerBill]

Source: Xinhua News Agency

WARSAW, Jan. 20 -- Practical, not political reasons were taken into consideration when selecting Morag, a small town in north-eastern Poland about 100 km from the Russian border, as the base for Patriot missiles battery to be deployed in Poland by the U.S. army, Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said Wednesday.

The Patriots, to be stationed in Poland on a rotation basis, will likely arrive at the turn of March, he added.

Morag was selected not because of its location near Russia's Kaliningrad district or for any political or strategic reason, only due to the existing military infrastructure, the minister was quoted as saying by the Polish news agency PAP.

"In Morag we could offer the best conditions for American soldiers and the best technical base for the equipment," Klich said.

Morag has been home to Polish military units for a long time, has extensive barracks and training grounds which require insignificant adjustments, he stressed.

The missiles are part of a system proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama in September last year that Washington says will counter Iran's ballistic missile program.

Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-01/21/c_13144534.htm

[msongs]

1. weren't those missles pretty much a failure in israel during the gulf war? nt

[Ian David]

2. Yeah. And they didn't do shit. n/t

[Duckhunter935]

8. As a person who works on Patriot

The current system is miles ahead of the first generation converted fixed wing air defense system. The latest are designed for TBM defense, but the footprint of coverage is not all that large, that would be for THAAD.

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

14. Current generation is different.

The original version of the Patriot missile was designed to hit *aircraft*. It was a testament to their engineering that they could be used against ballistic missiles at all, since that was not part of their design spec. They could do it, but not very well.

Current generations of Patriot missiles are explicitly designed to intercept ballistic missiles. In fact, there is a rapidly vanishing difference between anti-missile systems and anti-aircraft systems generally, they are mostly the same system these days. If you look at naval defenses, the missiles are designed to hit pretty much everything from low-flying aircraft to low earth orbit.


One thing to keep in mind is that the military tends to maintain a continuity of names for a class of platform even if they massively re-engineer the system under the hood. To use another example, the original Sidewinder missiles were heat-seekers but the US has not produced a heat-seeking missile in decades -- we still call them Sidewinders. The weapons are also very modular and the same packages get reused prolifically. The terminal guidance system on a short-range air-to-air missile like the Sidewinder is essentially the same system as strategic missile interceptors, they just tweak it for the mission.

[tammywammy]

20. The PAC-3 is a very reliable missile n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. aren't they old and outdated?

[Duckhunter935]

9. No

[lib2DaBone]

4. Didn't Obama say he wasn't going to deploy them?

(if we are talking the same missiles on the same Russian border?)

[Crowman1979]

6. Change? What Change?

He actually meant pocket change. :sarcasm:

[Kolesar]

11. So sad!

Dripping with tears!!

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. So why can't Russia put missiles in Cuba?

.
.
.

:shrug:

eh?

[mbperrin]

7. Beats me. Cuba is a greater distance away than this proposal.

Amazing, isn't it?

[Duckhunter935]

10. Depends on the type of missile

Patriot only has one purpose and that is the defense of an asset. It has no offensive capability.

[Arctic Dave]

12. There is no such thing as a "defensive only" weapons system.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Would you explain that a bit more for me, pls?

I know nothing about Patriot missiles.
What is "offensive capability"?

[Duckhunter935]

15. Offensive is like the SCUD missiles

They are fired and targeted at a location to attack an asset. Patriot on the other hand is capable of only firing on incoming targets that meet predetermined perameters. If they were just fired without a target they are designed to self destruct after a set amount of time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. Thank you. That clarifies the issue for me.

Do you have any idea why putting the missiles in Poland is to counter IRAN?
Seems Iran is a long way from Poland.
I don't get that connection.

[hack89]

17. They are there to shoot down any missiles shot at Europe

from Iran. Patriots can only intercept missiles at the end of their trajectory just before impact.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. Got it. Thanks.

:hi:

[yava]

19. and why would Iran attack Poland?

If these missiles are for destruction of incoming ones as they approach target, they are not to defend the rest of Europe, like Spain or the UK.
If they are, then they can also shoot down Russian ones.

[tammywammy]

21. Other areas of Europe also have missile defense in place n/t

[EvilMonk]

22. The range is better than you might think...

"The battery system will be manned by some 100 US soldiers, and will contain four to eight missiles... The short- and medium-range system is a less complicated version of a disputed Bush-era plan to base long-range missile-defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic." ~IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

This means that the "umbrella" will cover most of Europe. You only have to be able to intercept the incoming threat, not be able to reach it's intended target as well.

The CR and Poland are good spots to provide this security. The rationale is that the missile systems will be far enough away to be protected just by distance, but strong enought to be an active deterrant, or even a negating factor should the need arise. They can reach what others can't.

And no, they have no offensive capabilities. After a certin time frame, they self-destruct. If they miss their target, they self-destruct. If they run out of fuel and are in danger of grounding, guess what happens.

Russia will always act like we are infringing upon them and their interests. It's kind of what they do. Considering the role that these missile systems have (more specifically DON'T have), comparing them to Nuclear Warhead MIRVs stationed in Cuba is a little silly...

[EvilMonk]

23. Here's more:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/patriot.htm

Everything you need to know about the system and it's capabilities.