Wall Street Journal – Sea-Based Missiles to Target a Redefined Threat

The U.S. plans to deploy sea-based SM-3 interceptor missiles in 2011 as part of its plan to rely on a mix of small, relatively inexpensive defensive systems to counter an evolving Iranian threat.

The White House confirmed Thursday that it would abandon efforts to build a large-scale missile-defense system in Eastern Europe, canceling a program that had become a source of Russian anger. The plan, still in the blueprint stage, would have built a large radar array in the Czech Republic and deployed 10 interceptor missiles to Poland.

Instead, the U.S. plans the SM-3 deployment, followed by a more advanced version of the system in 2015 that would include defensive missiles that could be launched from both sea and land.