US gov. cancels European missile defense phase scheduled for placement in Poland, will do environmental impact studies for possible missile placement later in Alaska and California

.
3/16/13, "US scraps final phase of European missile shield," BBC

"US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has scrapped the final phase of its European missile defence shield, citing development problems and funding cuts.

Upgraded interceptors were to have been deployed in Poland to counter medium- and intermediate-range missiles, and potential threats from the Middle East.

Mr Hagel said the threat had "matured" and that the US commitment to Nato missile defence remained "ironclad". The interceptors had been strongly opposed by the Russian government....

The dropping of the fourth and final phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) for missile defence was announced quietly at a news conference, reports the BBC's Matt Wells in Washington.

Almost as an aside, Mr Hagel confirmed that in order to fund 14 new Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) in Alaska by 2017 to guard against increased threats from North Korea, the SM-3 IIB programme - a land-based standard missile - would be "restructured", our correspondent adds."...

==================================

"Hagel said DOD is also conducting environmental
 impact studies"...

3/15/13, "Hagel: U.S. Bolstering Missile Defense," by Amaani Lyle, defense.gov, American Forces Press Service

"The United States will add more ground-based ballistic
missile interceptors to its arsenal to guard against
increased threats from North Korea and Iran, 
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today....

The Pentagon will deploy 14 more ground-based
interceptors in locations at Fort Greely, Alaska,
and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif, Hagel said,
boosting the total number from 30 to 44....

"Hagel said DOD is also conducting
environmental impact studies for a potentialadditional interceptor site in the United States. Officials are looking
for twosites on the East Coast 
and one on the West. While the
administration has not made a decision
on whether
to proceed, conducting environmental impactstudies will shorten
the timeline of construction
should a decision be made, he explained. 

Hagel also announced plans to restructure
the SM3-2B program,a land-based standard
missile,
with plans to deploy it as part of the
European
phase-adapted approach. “The purpose
was to
add protection of the U.S. homeland
already
provided by our current GBIs 
[ground based interceptors] against
missile
threats in the Middle East,” Hagel said." 
...via Michael Savage


.