Syracuse.com:
The Pentagon expects to decide by the end of the year whether Fort Drum would make an ideal location for the nation’s first missile interceptor base near the East Coast, a potential $3.6 billion project that could be an economic boon for New York’s North Country.
Two other military installations – Camp Ravenna Joint Training Center in Ohio and Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan – are in competition to be designated as the site of the project, which could bring up to 1,450 new military, civilian and construction jobs.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is wrapping up a two-year study that will recommend one of the sites to Congress, fulfilling a mandate from lawmakers supporting the development.
But no matter which site is chosen, it’s unlikely anything will happen to develop the missile interceptor base for years, if ever.
The Pentagon and its top generals in charge of missile defense insist the project is not necessary, and that the billions it would cost would be better spent upgrading the nation’s two existing interceptor sites at Fort Greeley in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In test firings, the ground-based missile interceptors have an inconsistent track record, succeeding at destroying only about half of the incoming missiles.
Chris Johnson, a spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency in Washington, said the existing sites are more than adequate to defend the U.S. from emerging threats posed by Iran or North Korea with the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“The department has made no decision to deploy or construct an interceptor site on the East Coast, and there is no expressed military requirement for an additional ground-based interceptor site,” Johnson said in a statement. “The current sites provide the necessary protection of the U.S. homeland.”
Johnson said military officials have no plans to move forward with development of an East Coast site. The study, completed at a cost of about $6 million, will likely sit on a shelf after it is delivered to Congress.
Members of Congress push project
Some members of Congress are not convinced the two existing interceptor sites are adequate to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at the United States, and have continued to push for an East Coast defense site.
Among those leading the effort is Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, whose district includes Jefferson County and Fort Drum, the sprawling Army post that houses the 10th Mountain Division about 80 miles north of Syracuse.
