$¾ Billion: What Do They Know?

With the only countries that are both able and willing to mount a missile attack against the US sharing a border in far east Asia, the Pentagon's huge contract for "floating radar" may seem like overkill; but it's supposed to be operational in record time -- by Fall of 2005.

The concept -- using X-band radar units in the oceans to track incoming missiles and help coordinate countermeasures -- is old, and neglected, at least since the Soviet Union collapsed; but the size of the commitment, and the rapidity of the fulfillment, should raise eyebrows throughout the world's political and defense communities.

Raytheon and Boeing are to share the contract, producing the infrastructure as well as the X-band radar units. Whether the units will include dedicated ships, or be mounted in barges and towed around, has not been specified; the ultimate design will surely affect how the money is to be spent.

The Pentagon is not acknowledging any link between this program and the spotty performance of anti-missile tests, the latest of which was a the third failure in eight tests, in December.

Raytheon will supply most of the electronics; Boeing is looking to build the booster, with both Lockheed Martin and Orbital vying to supply the rocket motors.

Reuters reports that, "The plans call for an initial U.S. system with 16 interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, and four at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by 2005." This seems to indicate that the Pentagon is looking across the Pacific, for the likeliest threat.

FMI: www.dod.gov; www.raytheon.com; www.boeing.com