[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23972]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    SUCCESSFUL INTERCEPT TEST OF THE NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am sure that by now Senators have heard 
the news that this past weekend a key element of our national missile 
defense system was successfully tested when a self-guided vehicle 
intercepted and destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile in 
outer space some 140 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
  This test was another in a string of successes of our new missile 
defense technology. The test last Saturday evening follows two 
consecutive successful intercepts each for the PAC-3 and THAAD theater 
missile defense systems.
  The timing of this good news is fortunate, coming as it does a few 
weeks after our intelligence community released an unclassified summary 
of a new intelligence estimate which shows both theater and long-range 
ballistic missile threats continue to grow. That summary states:

       The proliferation of [Medium Range Ballistic Missiles]--
     driven primarily by North Korean No-Dong sales--has created 
     an immediate, serious, and growing threat to U.S. forces, 
     interests and allies in the Middle East and Asia and has 
     significantly altered the strategic balances in those 
     regions.

  Our new theater missile defense systems such as PAC-3, THAAD, and the 
airborne laser, and the Navy's area and theaterwide systems will help 
redress those balances and ensure the security of our forces and our 
allies.
  The summary of the new intelligence estimate also discloses that new 
ICBM threats to the territory of the United States could appear in a 
few years and that those threats may be more sophisticated than 
previously estimated. The summary states:

       Russia and China each have developed numerous 
     countermeasures and probably are willing to sell the 
     requisite technologies.

  It states that countries such as North Korea, Iran, and Iraq could 
``develop countermeasures based on these technologies by the time they 
flight-test their missiles.
  The Washington Times reported recently that China's recent test of 
the DF-31 ICBM employed such countermeasures, and if the Chinese are 
willing to share this technology with rogue states such as North Korea, 
as the intelligence summary estimates, the threat we face may be more 
sophisticated than previously anticipated.
  The intelligence summary notes a related trend that was also 
illustrated in a recent news report. It states:

       Foreign assistance continues to have demonstrable effects 
     on missile advances around the world. Moreover, some 
     countries that have traditionally been recipients of foreign 
     missile technology are now sharing more amongst themselves 
     and are pursuing cooperative missile ventures.

  Recently, the Jerusalem Post reported Syria is, with the help of 
Iran, developing a new 500 kilometer-range missile based on the North 
Korean Scud C. According to the summary of the National Intelligence 
Estimate, Iran is receiving technical assistance from Russia, and North 
Korea from China.
  These disturbing trends suggest the ballistic missile threat--both to 
our forces deployed overseas and to our homeland--continue to increase, 
and it makes the recent successes all the more important. I 
congratulate the Army, the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, and 
the contractor teams on their successes.
  Saturday's success does not mean all the technical problems in our 
missile defense programs are solved, but the successful intercepts do 
confirm that the test programs are proving the technology of missile 
defense is maturing and that, with the appropriate resources, the 
talented men and women in our military and defense industries who are 
working on these programs are making very impressive progress on the 
development of workable theater and national missile defense systems. 
We should be very pleased with these successes and continue to support 
a robust missile defense program.
  I yield the floor.

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