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French Debate Missile Defense Programs



By PIERRE TRAN

Defense News
25 Oct 2010



PARIS — A recent statement of French support for NATO’s plan to build a ballistic missile defense system for protection of national territory has sent an important policy signal that acknowledges the capability as complementary to the nuclear deterrent, defense specialists said at a high-level conference.



The conference, “Missile Defense: What Are the Stakes Ahead of the Lisbon Summit,” also marked a frank exchange between industry chiefs François Auque, chief executive of Astrium, the EADS space division, and Antoine Bouvier, chief executive of missile maker MBDA, as each argued the merits of his own program needs.

The event was set up by conference organizer Défense & Stratégie.



Lawmaker Christophe Guilloteau, secretary of the parliamentary defense committee, opened the conference by quoting the official communiqué issued after the Oct. 15 meeting between NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.


Sarkozy “recalled France’s support in principle for the new approach in missile defense proposed by the president of the United States and currently under debate in NATO,” Guilloteau said, citing the communiqué.

“A decision could be taken in Lisbon on the basis of a realistic project, adapted to the evolution of the ballistic threat posed by certain Middle East programs and accompanied by a dialogue with Russia with a view to cooperation. France could contribute to it.



“As Mr. Rasmussen underlined, missile defense is designed as a complement to nuclear deterrence, and not as a substitute,” he said.



The Lisbon summit, set for Nov. 19-20, brings together heads of states and governments of the 28 members of the treaty organization.

Missile defense is “a subject of actuality” as countries in the Middle East and around the world work on missile programs, said Maj. Gen. Philippe Houbron of the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) procurement office.


France has consistently pointed to its nuclear deterrent as its response to potential attack by ballistic missiles.

Indeed, until recently, Defense Minister Hervé Morin has referred to missile defense systems as a Maginot Line, the fixed defensive position that failed to protect France from German invasion at the opening of World War II.


For France, missile defense has been restricted to protection of deployed forces in theater. The French Air Force received Sept. 20 at its Luxeuil air base a first delivery of the Aster 15 SAMP/T missile battery, named Mamba, as its new air defense system.



For Louis Gautier, a conference speaker and Lyon University professor, the “complementarity” of missile defense to deterrence settled the doctrinal debate. Gautier was also defense adviser to ex-Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Even if France agrees to work on missile defense as part of the phased-adaptive approach adopted by the U.S. government, and extension of NATO’s active layered theater ballistic missile defense (ALTBMD) system, questions remain about Paris’ contribution and industrial opportunities.


There will be competition for scarce money, Gautier said.

Missile defense will have to fight for funding against the nuclear deterrent, which consumes about 3 billion euros ($4.2 billion) of annual equipment spending, or 10 percent of the total defense budget.


And within missile defense, decisions will have to be taken on what asset Paris will contribute. Countries can contribute money or assets to the U.S. system, based on the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3).



A senior NATO official said that upgrading the command-and-control network of members under the ALTBMD program to give territorial protection would cost about $200 million over 10 years and be shared among the 28 members.


The ALTBMD system was designed for theater protection with a completion date of 2018. Houbron said the estimated 80 million to 150 million euro cost of extending the NATO ALTBMD system to provide territorial defense was relatively modest, but that had to be added to the current 800 million euros budgeted for delivering the network.

“Obviously, this cost estimate has to be taken with caution, as it is not based on clearly identified military needs,” Houbron said.


France has budgeted 100 million euros as its share of the 800 million euro cost of ALTBMD.

On the industrial front, Auque, visibly annoyed, argued that France should pursue the capabilities of satellite-based early alert and interception in space, as it was unrealistic to ask enemy countries to “restrict” themselves to weapons covered by extended air defense systems, such as the Aster missile from MBDA.

There is no room for an “incremental approach” under the enlarged air defense concept, he said.

Faced with threats of long-range, high-speed ballistic missiles, the current budget reductions have delayed for four years an order for the Ceres satellite system, and there are no feasibility studies for space research, Auque said.

France has in orbit two Spirale microsatellites providing infrared imagery for detecting launches, but this is a demonstrator program, not a fully operational capability.

“The money is there,” Auque said, adding that former President Charles de Gaulle had found the money when it was needed.

If Europe relied on the U.S. government for long-range interception, there would be a price to pay, Auque added.



MBDA’s Bouvier, however, insisted that it is the ability to deploy an operational capability that earns credibility. MBDA has pushed development of the Aster Block 2 missile under the evolution road map backed by MBDA, Safran and Thales.

The Americans have cornered the long­range, space-intercept mission with the SM-3 whereas there is an emerging threat in medium-range missiles with maneuverable war­heads. European industry could work on this domain by developing the Aster missile, Bouvier said.

The U.S. government has signed up with Japan to develop the SM-3 Block 2A, and has excluded European participation in the block 2B program, Bouvier said.

Only companies registered in the United States, employing U.S. citizens with security clearance and contributing local research and development, can work on the Block 2B missile, Bouvier said later. That made it difficult for European companies to work on the program, he said.



A key question in the missile defense domain will be, whose finger is on the button, a senior French Navy officer said.

De facto, it will be the top U.S. commander in NATO, supreme allied commander Europe, but that must be acknowledged and accepted by the alliance members, Gautier said.

And if Russia is participating in the missile defense talks, it is highly unlikely Moscow would accept a command-and-control system under U.S. authority, he added.

The French white paper on defense and national security identified a space-based early alert capability as a necessary strategic function, but budgetary constraints have seen this sidelined.