NSC, OSD, NORAD refining list of critical domestic 'nodes' requiring CMD

摘要

White House, Pentagon and North American Aerospace Defense Command officials are refining a list of critical sites in the United States and Canada for active defense against long-range Russian and Chinese cruise missiles, eyeing domestic deployments in a crisis of sophisticated air defense systems such as Patriot and optimal locations for fighter aircraft armed with advanced radar. Col. Kristopher Struve, NORAD vice director of operations, said senior policy makers are considering ways to defend against new, long-range strike weapons. U.S. defense officials say China and Russia could potentially use a new class of sophisticated conventional weapons to hobble critical domestic infrastructure in an effort to thwart U.S. force projection operations by attacking airfields, ports, utilities or even locations with significant economic significance. "We are working closely with [the Office of the Secretary of Defense], the [White House] National Security Council on 'Where are we going to place those limited, ground-based air defense assets that we will have in time of conflict?' to really change our adversaries calculus about their efficacy of being able to execute an attack on the U.S.," Struve said Oct. 18 during an online event hosted by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.