http://defensenews.com/blogs/dubai-air-show/2009/11/french-minister-to-mull-missile-defense-studies/
Defense News November 15, 2009 French minister to mull missile defense studies By Pierre Tran Dubai – French defense minister Hervé Morin said he planned to meet industry to discuss feasibility studies for research into missile defense technology. The technology studies would contribute toward a “maintenance of industrial competence,” Morin told journalists at the air show, which opened Nov.15 here. .... Going back to president François Mitterrand, previous French governments had decided not to invest in missile defense, but the subject had a way of coming back onto the table no matter how often it was turned away by political leaders, Morin said. MBDA chief executive Antoine Bouvier recently called for political leaders to decide on what role European countries could take in the new sea-based ballistic missile defense plan outlined by U.S. president Barack Obama on Sept. 17. European industry had the know how to contribute to a lower layer of ballistic missile defense but needed support, Bouvier said. Although the French government funded some research studies into missile defense, the effort needed to be boosted, he said. MBDA, Thales and Safran last year banded together to garner official support for the Aster roadmap, a long term development plan for the Block 2 missile, which would track, acquire and intercept ballistic missiles in the upper atmosphere. Under current studies, MBDA is working on its Aster interceptor, Thales is developing a long range radar, Safran’s Sagem is working on a lateral control system using a solid divert and attitude control system (SDACS) manoeuvring system in the upper atmosphere, and a new fuel needed for first and second stage boosters. A defense analyst based in Paris recently said industry is hoping to obtain around 50 million euros of research funding a year for missile defense. =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] Daily digest option available. ==============================
