The NFIRE satellite will use an infrared sensor to look for the plumes from missiles such as this one, which was launched on 21 March by the US Missile Defense Agency to test tracking technology(Image: Missile Defense Agency)
From Reuters:
TALLINN (Reuters) - The United States views Russian threats to place tactical missiles in the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad as provocative and misguided, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.
Russia made the move in response to U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe, which Moscow sees as a threat to its security. Washington says the system is needed against missile strikes from what it terms rogue states, notably Iran.
Gates, speaking after a NATO meeting with Ukraine, said the Russian threats were "hardly the welcome a new American administration deserved," referring to the fact they were made immediately after Barack Obama won the presidential election.
"Such provocative remarks are unnecessary and misguided," Gates told a news conference in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
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My Comment: President Bush's staff are frustrated. They know that the Russians are just waiting for President-elect Obama to install himself and his staff into the White House on January 20, 2009. They see that there is no point to have negotiations right now.