Donald Rumsfeld told reporters in Alaska Sunday that America’s fledgling missile defense capability needs more testing, but “with each passing month [it] has become more capable.” However, the US Defense Secretary wants to see a full system test, “where we actually put all the pieces” together to see if the system can, in fact, hit a warhead in flight. In contrast, the head of the Missile Defense Agency, Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering III, expressed confidence both before and after Pyongyang’s July 4 fireworks that the US system could have shot down North Korea’s long-range missile. There is no plan to have Thursday’s demonstration hit a test target vehicle, but Obering told reporters it will be “about as realistic as you can get.” MDA expects to test the system’s ability to actually hit a target vehicle in December.
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…