From the NATO C3 Agency: On the 1st of February, Brigadier General Alessandro PERA takes up the position of new head of the Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence Programme Office. He succeeds retired Brigadier General Michel Billard, in developing a NATO defence against theatre ballistic missile attacks on its forces. He will have quite a challenging agenda, which includes fielding a first capability this year…

As a first step, General Pera will handle the delivery of the interim ALTBMD capability. The ALTBMD will be built in increments, with the progressive addition of new missile defence capabilities in NATO command and control systems, as new national weapon systems, such as radars and interceptors are made available to NATO. The system will be one of the more sophisticated of its type, and will be the only system which can integrate all Alliance TBM defences…

Two major test events are planned in May and December 2010 to verify that the programme has met the Minimum Military Requirements. Besides, prototypes of future capabilities will participate in a major exercise in the Netherlands in July. (photo: NATO C3 Agency), via defpro.com