Aug 15 (Reuters) - Poland has agreed to host elements of a U.S. global anti-missile system meant to protect Europe and the United States from what Washington says is the potential threat of attack by Iran. Agreement on the shield, which Moscow opposes, was signed on Thursday amid a crisis over Russian military activities inside Georgia, a U.S. ally. Under the preliminary deal the United States would place 10 interceptor rockets at a base in northern Poland. In exchange, Washington has promised to boost Poland's air defenses. The agreement must be approved by both the U.S. and Polish governments as well as Poland's parliament. The United States and the Czech Republic have already signed a pact for that central European country to host a radar system as part of the shield. The Czech Republic's parliament still has to approve that deal. Moscow has said the missile defense system will threaten Russian security. President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday said the timing of the announcement showed the system was clearly aimed at Russia. Following are some details about the missile shield. THE PERCEIVED THREAT * Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, has said U.S. intelligence suggests that by 2015, Iran could follow North Korea's example and develop a long-range missile capable of striking the United Sates. * The United States brought an earlier anti-missile umbrella, based in Alaska and California, on line in 2004 to protect against the perceived North Korean threat. The Czech and Polish sites would augment that system. * Washington has tried to quell concerns in Moscow that the system would pose a threat to Russia by highlighting that the shield's missiles are defensive only -- carrying no warheads -- and would be no match for Russia's nuclear arsenal. THE TECHNOLOGY * The $3.5 billion system would use "hit-to-kill" technology in which an array of sensors and radar would detect an enemy missile in flight and guide a ground-based interceptor to destroy it. * Without using explosives, the interceptor would ram an incoming warhead at a closing speed of 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph) in a process likened to hitting a bullet with another bullet in space. * The MDA says tests show the technology is sound. But critics, including the Washington-based Center for Defense Information, say the evidence is misleading, many tests were made in controlled circumstances not resembling real attacks, and more results are needed to prove the system works. THE PLAN * The radar installation planned for the Czech Republic would aim its coverage toward the Middle East to detect a missile in flight and guide interceptor missiles into the trajectory of the approaching warhead. * Washington plans to place as many as 10 interceptor missiles with a range of up to 1,800 miles (3,000 km) in Poland. The missiles would be housed in underground silos in an area about the size of a football field. * If approved, construction on both sites could begin in 2009, and could begin functioning in 2011-2013. (Sources: U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Pentagon, Center for Defense Information) (Compiled by Michael Winfrey; Editing by Charles Dick and Eric Beech)
A Russian military helicopter secures the mountains around the Georgian city of Gori, August 15, 2008. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday demanded Russia withdraw all of its troops ...
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