Should The U.S. Build A Cruise Missile Shield Network To Deter Russia?

A JLENS aerostat is seen on White Sands Missile Range. White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs

Defense One: Pentagon Building Cruise Missile Shield To Defend US Cities From Russia

The military moves to set up an expensive sensor-and-shooter network, but is the threat real?

The Pentagon is quietly working to set up an elaborate network of defenses to protect American cities from a barrage of Russian cruise missiles.

The plan calls for buying radars that would enable National Guard F-16 fighter jets to spot and shoot down fast and low-flying missiles. Top generals want to network those radars with sensor-laden aerostat balloons hovering over U.S. cities and with coastal warships equipped with sensors and interceptor missiles of their own.

One of those generals is Adm. William Gortney, who leads U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, and North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. Earlier this year, Gortney submitted an “urgent need” request to put those new radars on the F-16s that patrol the airspace around Washington. Such a request allows a project to circumvent the normal procurement process.

Update: New Russian cruise missiles prompt Pentagon to build better shield for U.S. cities -- Washington Times

WNU Editor: If Russian cruise missiles were to ever be spotted and tracked on their way to the U.S. .... no one in NORAD or the White House would know if they were nuclear or not .... but the assumption that everyone will be making is that they are nuclear .... and I can guarantee you this .... before these slow moving cruise missiles hit their targets in the U.S., American ICBMs will be exploding in Russia. Bottom line .... Russia and the U.S. will be throwing everything (including the kitchen sink) if both countries start to launch missiles at each other .... slow moving cruise missiles will be at the bottom of everyone's priority list. But if you build this network to deter an attack from a smaller power with very limited capabilities .... this network may make sense .... but I would still put a big "maybe" on this actually working.