| Interceptor missiles deployed in Poland as part of a US missile defence shield would be fast enough to target Russian intercontinental missiles, contrary to US assurances, a US researcher said Thursday. Ted Postol, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a long time critic of the US missile defence system, said the US Missile Defence Agency (MDA) is understating the speed of the interceptor and overstating the speed of Russian long range missiles. MDA spokesman Rick Lehner said Postol had no access to missile test data and his assertions were “totally false.” The United States is negotiating to station 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a high powered targeting radar in the Czech Republic to counter what it says is a growing missile threat from Iran. Russia has objected vehemently to the plan on grounds that the European site could be used against its missiles, despite repeated denials from Washington. |