by Christopher Hellman and Travis Sharp Ballistic missile defense continues to receive more funding than any other weapons system in the annual Pentagon budget. Background: As part of its Fiscal Year 2002 budget request, the Defense Department announced a major restructuring of the Ballistic Missile Defense Office (BMDO). Funding for a range of programs within BMDO […]
Analysis of Missile Control Agreement between China and the U.S.
Last week, in a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China promised that it “has no intention to assist, in any way, any country in the development of ballistic missiles that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons.” China also pledged to take steps to improve its system of export controls, including publishing […]
For U.S. Missile Defense, Heavily Scripted Success Does Not Equal Security
By Achraf Farraj, Fall 2007 Research Intern The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) conducted a test of its Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD) – also called National Missile Defense – on September 28, 2007 in which a target missile fired from Alaska was struck by an interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. […]
Excessive Claims for Missile Defense
by Robert G. Gard In his article “Missile Defense Hits the Mark: Increasing Success Undermines Critics” (Defense News, July 23, 2007), Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), carries the traditional and laudable “can-do” attitude of the military too far. He claims an operational capability, yet to be demonstrated, for […]
National Missile Defense in Europe: Premature and Unwise
by Robert G. Gard The Bush Administration has announced its intention to build a national missile defense complex in Europe to supplement current deployments of the system’s components, including interceptor sites based in Alaska and California. This decision is premature, misguided, wasteful of billions of dollars, and damaging to U.S. relationships with our European allies […]
