UK to deploy missiles for Olympics

LONDON - The British Ministry of Defense (MOD) on Monday revealed that it had identified six sites in the east of London for deployment of ground-to-air missile batteries to protect the Olympic and Paralympic Games which come to the city this summer.

A British Army Rapier air defence system is seen in an undated photo released in London April 30, 2012. Britain's military said it will deploy Rapier and Starstreak missile systems in areas around London during a pre-Olympic Games air defence exercise beginning this week. [Photo/Agencies]

The deployment will be part of the plans for a major exercise this week to test Olympic security called Olympic Guardian.

The exercise begins on Wednesday and runs until May 10, and the MOD said in a statement that it would result in a visible presence of armed forces personnel, ships and aircraft.

This will include the high-profile appearance of the Royal Navy's flagship and largest vessel HMS Ocean at Greenwich, which is the venue for the Olympic equestrian events and which is only a couple of kilometers from the Olympic Park in the Stratford district of east London.

HMS Ocean is a helicopter carrier and floating command center, and naval helicopters will also be used.

Naval early warning helicopters and Royal Air Force helicopters will be deployed at an army base in Ilford, several kilometers to the east of the Olympic Park and RAF Typhoon jet fighters will fly across the London skies as part of the exercise.

The MOD said the anti-aircraft missile batteries would be fitted with practice drill missiles at the six sites in the east of the city, ringing the Olympic Park.

The Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond, said, "Support for the Olympic Games will be an important task in 2012 and this exercise is about pushing our people and our systems to the limit to ensure that we are ready for the challenge. The majority of this exercise will be played out in full view of the public and I hope that it will have a secondary effect of reassuring that everything possible is being done to ensure this will be a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games."