Director of the US Missile Defense Agency general Henry Obering (on the screen) takes part in the press conference devoted to the successful missile intercept test.
Photo: Yury Gripas
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Senate Urged to Double Budget for Missile Defense in Europe
The Senate Armed Services Panel backed up widening the budget for the missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic from $320 million to $712 million, The Associated Press reported.
The budget that also includes the costs to construct missile defense systems is to be sanctioned by the U.S. Senate and the House before reaching the president.
Washington intends to construct a radar station in the Czech Republic and station ten interceptors in Poland, giving as reason the need to counter potential missile attacks from the Middle East or Asia (mostly Iran and North Korea). Russia, however, opposes these plans of the United States, viewing them as a threat to its security.
In mid-April, a group of U.S. prominent scientists, generally known as the Union of Concerned Scientists, submitted to the House of Representatives a report questioning capability of the U.S. missile defense shield in Europe to protect the country against the nuclear threat.
That report is interesting also because of the Congress projections, whereby from $213 billion to $277 billion is to be appropriated to fund the missile defense program from now on to 2025.
www.kommersant.com
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