Non-Subscriber Extract
Missile defence launches US-Ukrainian co-operation
- Article Tools
| 17 January 2006 |
By Dr Eric Miller
Although Ukraine's December 2004 Orange Revolution sparked speculation about the country's potential to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), mainstream security analysts have missed the potential for co-operation with Kiev on missile defence. But US President George W Bush and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko have said that this is a promising area for co-operation. During their 4 April 2005 meeting in Washington, the two presidents agreed "to work together on missile defence, including beginning negotiations on a framework to facilitate such co-operation and closer industry-to-industry collaboration". These few words may lift US-Ukrainian security co-operation to new heights.
Missile defence co-operation allows for potential collaboration between Ukrainian space launch and missile capabilities and US missile defence requirements. In addition, a mutually beneficial relationship in this area could boost the geopolitical objectives of both sides. With regards to missile defence, the US hopes to acquire useful ballistic missile hardware, technology and design insight. It is especially interested in technologies that are likely to be attractive to emerging ballistic missile states. Washington also hopes that co-operation with Ukraine will tie Kiev to Western norms of export control. For its part, Ukraine is looking to boost a key aerospace industry and to improve its prospects for joining NATO.
Growing momentum
The kind of government-to-government and industry-to-industry co-operation envisaged in the presidential statement in April is beginning to take form. In February 2006, the US DoD and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) will open formal negotiations on a Research, Development, Technology and Evaluation (RDT&E) agreement. This government-to-government accord will serve as the organising document for the industry-to-industry missile defence co-operation called for by the two presidents.
This type of document is essential for functional co-operation. In the words of one senior official from the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU), the lead agency on these matters: "At present, the bureaucratic responsibility and accountability for missile defence co-operation is ill-defined. The [RDT&E] agreement will serve as a forcing function for the Ukrainian government to specify how it will go about doing missile defence co-operation with the United States." The document will outline the responsibilities of particular US and Ukrainian government organisations and define how they are to co-operate.
364 of 2,234 words