All the legal constraints that had prevented use of sea-based systems in missile defense schemes disappeared, and engineers could begin thinking about exploiting the full operational potential of the Aegis combat system.
Second, all of the scientists and engineers who worked on the European land-based missile defense project will now scatter to the winds, some taking early retirement, some getting assigned to other projects and others perhaps going into different industries altogether.
Such systems include all phases of the Phased Adaptive Approach to missile defenses in Europe, the modernization of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, and the continued development of the two-stage Ground-Based Interceptor as a technological and strategic hedge.