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146 美国国防部要求扩充导弹防御试验设备
Pentagon Expands Missile Defense Test Facilities
Alex Belida
Pentagon
11 Jul 2001 01:03 UTC
The Pentagon has confirmed its latest 1)budget request to Congress includes funds to expand its missile defense test facilities. These include sites in Alaska, where defense officials envision eventual deployment of an operational, ground-based missile 2)interceptor system.
Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, 3)downplays concerns the Bush administration is poised to circumvent the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with its construction plans for Alaska.
Admiral Quigley says Alaska is merely being looked at as part of a more robust missile defense testing program. He said, "It [Alaska] is intended to be a test site. We intend to conduct a much more robust test program to develop the research and data and 4)analysis that you need to test out different means of providing missile defense."
But in response to reporters' questions, the Pentagon spokesman 5)concedes the so-called "test beds" planned for Alaska could eventually become part of an operational missile defense system. "But if the need arose and that's what the nation needed," he said, "we would do anything and everything we could to provide a [missile defense] capability.
Admiral Quigley says the Alaska plans will not 6)violate the ABM treaty. But he acknowledges both President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld have said they are prepared to 7)abandon the pact.
The Pentagon says its detailed plans for Alaska remain under study. But published news reports say officials 8)envision a missile interceptor site as well as a launch site for test missiles.
At present, test missiles are launched from a base in California and the interceptors are fired at them from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.
Defense officials are planning a test using those facilities this Saturday. It will be the fourth such full-scale intercept test. In two of the three previous tests, the so-called "kill vehicle" interceptor failed to hit the 9)target missile.
The U.S. effort to develop missile defenses has drawn 10)criticism from Russia, China and some NATO countries who fear it could 11)trigger a new arms race.
But the Bush administration has proposed significant increases in the defense budget for expanded research on missile defenses. In addition to a ground-based interceptor system, Pentagon officials are also exploring airborne and shipboard systems for 12)knocking down missiles.
(1) budget[5bQdVIt]n.预算vi.做预算, 编入预算
(2) interceptor[IntE5septE(r)]n.拦截机
(3) downplay[`daJnpleI]vt.不予重视
(4) analysis[E5nAlEsIs]n.分析, 分解
(5) concede[kEn5si:d]vt.勉强, 承认, 退让vi.让步
(6) violate[5vaIEleIt]vt.违犯, 冒犯, 干扰, 违反, 妨碍
(7) abandon[E5bAndEn]vt.放弃, 遗弃n.放任, 狂热
(8) envision[In`vIVLn]vt.想象, 预想
(9) target[5tB:^It]n.目标, 对象, 靶子
(10) criticism[5krItIsIz(E)m]n.批评, 批判
(11) trigger[5trI^E(r)]vt.引发, 引起, 触发n.板机
(12) knock down v.击倒, 拆卸, 拍卖出
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