Building a dedicated anti-ballistic missile defense system risks repeating the mistakes of the Maginot line, the static strategic protection that failed France in 1940, said Gen. Stéphane Abrial, chief of the French Air Force.

Mobile and short-range ballistic missiles have emerged, especially in the Middle East, as military threats for which the West has struggled to find the right response.

A purely technological response would lead to a costly new arms race, Abrial said. Pragmatic alternatives include prevention, pre-emption, passive defense and acquisition of similar weapons as a deterrent, he said. While technology can defeat a particular type of missile, a counterstrategy of politics and cooperation would counter an overall threat.

Abrial’s remarks

“Anti-ballistic missile defense should not be the Maginot Line of the 21st century,” Abrial said Nov. 10 at the 3rd Biennial Defense News Middle East Air Chiefs Conference, just before the Dubai air show.

Anti-missile systems are necessary. By 2015, French forces deployed overseas will be protected from short-range missiles by SAMP/T Aster missiles linked to M3R radars, Abrial said.

But building a dedicated missile shield potentially puts all eggs in one basket and risks costly investment, while leaving the possibility of being bypassed by other, possibly asymmetric, threats.

Abrial said he expects three kinds of missiles to dominate in coming years: longer-range variants of Scud-type missiles; two-stage weapons whose warheads can maneuver in the boost or terminal phase; and cruise missiles.

Gathering intelligence on capabilities and intentions, and sharing that among allies, is a promising approach, the French general said. Early regional cooperation — not improvised in mid-crisis — is needed. Planners also need to decide on priorities. Which targets should be defended first: cities and population, or air bases?

France counts on its nuclear weapons to deter attacks, although the country does not consider itself presently vulnerable to long-range missile strikes. But that could change in less than 15 or 20 years, Abrial said.

Return to news coverage