London Olympics To Be Protected By Rooftop Missile Launchers

The British Ministry of Defence recently informed residents of an "upscale apartment development" near Olympic Park that it plans to install a "missile battery" on the development's property.

The site is one of a number around the capital the army is considering as bases for surface-to-air missiles to protect the London games from an aerial attack, the Ministry of Defence said.

It is the first time such missiles have been deployed in London since the end of World War Two, shocking some residents at the Bow Quarter housing development, sited in a converted red-brick Victorian match factory.

Residents are obviously up in arms and confused over the need for such seemingly drastic measures. Other hindrances will include road restrictions and a total budget of over 1 billion pounds. According to one resident, the community woke up to leaflets explaining that a tower in their development would be used because it was "the only suitable site in this area for the HVM (High Velocity Missile) system."

UK puts missiles on London rooftop to guard Olympics [Reuters]