Navy Secretary Gordon England says the United States will send an Aegis destroyer to the Sea of Japan in September as part of an accelerated effort to deploy ballistic missile defenses (BMD).

Speaking on the first day of a five-day conference on missile defense, England said the Navy will deploy a guided-missile destroyer within six months to East Asia "to serve as a Long-Range Surveillance and Tracking (LRS&T;) platform." By September, he said, "we will have queuing and targeting data from this region of the world that can be instantaneously shared with command-and-control and ground-based elements of our layered (missile) defense system."

England told the gathering of missile defense experts March 22 that the Aegis deployment is the first part of a three-phase Navy approach "to achieve full missile defense capability." Phase two, he continued, is to occur in 2005 with the "outfitting of an Aegis BMD cruiser with SM-3 Blk 1 (Standard Missile-3 Block-1) missiles to counter both short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats."

The secretary said the last phase will occur with the Navy's planned implementation of a "more robust engagement capability" in the spring of 2006. At that time, he said, the Navy will have 10 destroyers and one cruiser "fully configured and capable of carrying out BMD operations against a wide variety of missile threats from virtually anywhere in the world."

England told the Washington conference sponsored by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) that it is important to be able to put military forces ashore under the threat of ballistic missile strikes and "a sea-based missile defense system can help make this a reality."

Implementing a viable regional and sea-based terminal missile defense capability in the future, the secretary said, will help "ensure the safety of U.S. forces" should their missions require them to pass through foreign ports and/or airports.

Remarks by
The Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England
at the National Missile Defense Conference,
Ronald Reagan Center, Washington, D.C.

22 March 2004

Almost to this day, on March 23, 1983 21 years ago, President Reagan addressed the Nation and announced the concept of a missile defense program to be carried out by the end of the century. Although that vision has ebbed and flowed under other administrations -- and designs and timelines have shifted over the last two decades -- today, we stand on the brink of achieving a significant milestone in our Nation's security.

And, in fact, his "Star Wars" initiative held the potential to negate the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) standoff to the advantage of the U.S. and was therefore quite likely instrumental in the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union. At the macro level, the objective of today's missile defense program is to provide a stable environment in which our people and our allies can flourish. Security and economic development are two sides of the same coin. Security is necessary for economic development, and, in the long term, economic development is needed for security. In all cases, security comes first, and that is the fundamental objective of not only the National Security Strategy, but a Missile Defense System as well. Peace and prosperity are not ordained, but earned.

This is one of the reasons the President, in his National Security Strategy, wrote, "History will judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act. In the new world we have entered, the only path to peace and security is the path of action."

This post 9/11 age of uncertainly is no time to be cutting corners on national security or wishing away a threat. No one understands this better than the President who, like many before him in times of war, faces a historic challenge to reassess our national security policies.

A few weeks ago, on "Meet the Press," the President stated, "I don't think America can stand by and hope for the best ... it is essential ... that, when we see a threat, we deal with those threats before they become imminent. It's too late if they become imminent. It's too late in this new kind of war."

In 2002, President Bush made two significant announcements that thrust the Navy into the forefront of missile defense development. First, the withdrawal from the 1972 ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty -- which had prohibited sea-based ballistic missile defense systems -- opened new doors to the Navy in testing and deployment of NMD (National Missile Defense) capabilities. Our threats today are no longer grounded in a Cold War architecture and, therefore, our defenses shouldn't be either. This was the first step in achieving this transformation.

Second, in late 2002, President Bush accelerated plans and called on the Missile Defense Agency to have an initial deployment capability by the end of 2004, to include sea-based assets. This, too, brought greater emphasis and focus to the Navy's existing technology and its worldwide mobility. Quite simply, Missile Defense of our homeland is a priority to the President and to our national security and, therefore, a priority to the Navy. I am proud and pleased to be leading the Navy in this vital role and participation.

Given my convictions on the importance of Missile Defense and the significance of the work that you all do on a daily basis, I'd like to turn now to some specifics about the Navy's role in the current vision of Missile Defense.

Fundamental to this role is to project power and influence from the sea -- an enduring and unique contribution of the Navy toward national security. Navies fight away games -- it doesn't matter if it is 10 or 10,000 miles offshore. We're the first defense so that the last defense may not be needed.

On the subject of technology, our efforts in missile defense are not simply theoretical. Aegis BMD employs currently operational forces and a proven development approach that follows the guideline: "build a little, test a little, learn a lot".

As part of the President's directive to accelerate the fielding of a BMD Initial Defensive Operations capability, the Navy will deploy in the Sea of Japan, beginning this September and on a virtually continuous basis thereafter, a guided-missile destroyer to serve as a Long-Range Surveillance and Tracking (LRS&T;) platform.

This means that in just six months, we will have queuing and target data from this region of the world that can be instantaneously shared with command-and-control and ground-based elements of our layered defense system.

This is just the first increment in a three-phased approach by the Navy to achieve full missile defense capability. The second phase -- preliminary engagement capability -- is to be deployed in 2005 and will include outfitting of an Aegis BMD cruiser with SM-3 (Standard Missile) Block 1(first phase) missiles to counter both short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats.

The third and final phase will be more robust engagement capability, to be achieved in spring 2006. At that time, just two years from now, the Navy will have 10 DDGs (destroyers) and one CG (cruiser) fully configured and capable of carrying out BMD operations against a wide variety of missile threats from virtually anywhere in the world.

The Navy is also evaluating the benefits associated with developing a Sea-based Terminal Missile Defense capability. A viable regional and terminal sea-based ballistic missile defense system is important to ensure the safety of U.S. forces and the flow of those forces through foreign ports and airfields when required.

The bottom line is that we need to get forces ashore under the threat of ballistic missiles during a crisis -- or even during actual missile strikes -- and a sea-based missile defense system can help make this a reality.

Since 2002, Navy BMD has successfully tracked ICBM's (intercontinental ballistic missiles), passed and shared command-and-control data, and made four of five engagements in operational testing. Today, we continue to refine our capabilities and hone our resources toward an integrated missile defense system and stand ready to meet our objectives.

The most telling difference in the new reference frame for missile defense is the timeline. We are no longer compelled to pursue a 100 percent solution that's been totally perfected before it's deployed.

Instead, the Missile Defense Agency and the Navy are moving to rapidly deploy missile defense capabilities which will provide not only the military, but also the nation, with a mobile, sustainable, globally accessible and highly capable layered defense deterrent force to defend against worldwide ballistic missiles and potential weapons of mass destruction.

Our goal should not be the mere avoidance of another 9/11 2001, but also a freedom from fear of another 9/11 anywhere in the world. This is what's at the core -- the strength -- of a future Global Missile Defense System. This is our battle, and together with our friends and allies, we can prevail.

The legendary forefather of the Captains of the Navy ships that will soon conduct the first missile defense patrols -- the indomitable Arleigh Burke -- once said, "The difference between a good and great officer is about 10 seconds". Like Einstein, President Bush understands that time is not constant -- it is relative. We cannot wait as danger gathers.

Ours is a path of action. Missile defense is a new and vital mission that is our reason for being -- to defend America and our friends and allies. In closing, let me affirm the Navy's contribution to National Missile Defense: we are fully engaged and rapidly creating a reality for the sake of our security and prosperity.