Gates defends U.S. missile defense cuts

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday defended cuts to U.S. missile defense programs, saying Washington would still invest in boosting defenses against long-range missile threats, like those posed by North Korea and Iran.

Gates told a House of Representatives subcommittee that the United States had made "great technological progress on missile defense" in the last two decades, but it was vital to strike a balance between research and development of new programs and procurement.

He said the Pentagon had enough money from its fiscal 2009 budget to start building missile defense facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland if those countries approve and the Obama administration decides to move ahead with the plans.

But he said the administration also had "great interest" in partnering with Russia on missile defense.

"The reality is that radars located in Russia supplementing those in the Czech Republic would give additional capability to the sites in Europe," Gates told the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee.

Michele Flournoy, defense undersecretary for policy, told a defense writers breakfast the Pentagon was working on the issue with other federal agencies, Russia and the European partners, and hoped to reach a solution in the next months.

"We are also looking at the full range of technological solutions, are there better ways to do this, and importantly, can we do this in a cooperative manner with Russia," she said.

The administration's fiscal 2010 budget plan calls for termination of two missile defense programs and cut funding for the Missile Defense Agency by $1.2 billion.