Brussels - A NATO official has stressed the importance of not alienating Russia again, adding that there could be some added value to bringing Russia on board when exploring missile defense because of its industry and technical knowledge.
Speaking at a Security and Defence Agenda debate on the future of missile defense in Europe, Roberto Zadra, deputy head of NATO's WMD Centre, said that "we can't build missile defense that is perceived by Russia as being against it."
His comments were a clear reference to the controversy surrounding the so-called third-site plan in Poland and the Czech Republic, which has since been scrapped by the United States. Zadra also pointed to joint threat analysis as a potential area for NATO-Russia cooperation.
Mira Ricardel, vice president of business development for missile defense systems at Boeing, agreed that Russian industry could bring something to the table at a technical level while think tank researcher Jean-Pierre Maulny said it could be "interesting to work with Russia."
Earlier in the debate, Zadra said that "if Europe wants missile defense, then we have to find the money for it. Otherwise we can't complain if the U.S. goes it alone."
Robert Bell, senior vice president for SAIC, expressed the view that France could bring its satellite-based early detection capability into the equation, because "if you have something to say that the threat is coming, then you're in the decision loop from the beginning".
Meanwhile, Baker Spring, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, was in no doubt that missile defense will be an important part of NATO's new strategic concept.
The Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program is ready to test a few components that soldiers may have in their hands by 2010.
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