White House Budget Includes 9.4 Billion for Missile Defense
February 5, 2008 :: Defense News :: News
The White House's $515.4 billion 2009 baseline defense spending plan seeks $9.3 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, a figure MDA officials say will remain steady for the next few years. The budget if approved by Congress would include $405 million for the Airborne Laser program, $344.2 million for the Multiple Kill Vehicle, $375.7 million for the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, $44.9 million for the joint U.S.-Israeli David's Sling short-range missile effort, $151.5 million for ongoing work with Japan and $720 million for a planned missile defense system in Eastern Europe. (Article, Link)
» Missile Defense Agency Budget (Fiscal Year 2009)
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IBD: Missile Defense Before It's Too Late
November 8, 2007 :: Investor’s Business Daily :: Analysis
A November 7 editorial by Investor's Business Daily challenges the position of the Democratic Congress, which recently slashed $85 million from a planned missile defense site in Poland. Investor's Business Daily notes that Congress is undermining our best line of defense just when missile defense systems are demonstrating growing sophistication and reliability and the threats to our security are at their greatest. These improvements are displayed in the landmark November 6 test when an Aegis Cruiser intercepted two missiles. Missile defense is critical in a world of nuclear proliferation among highly unstable states. Not only Iran and North Korea could threaten the U.S., but possibly Pakistan, which "could become an enemy depending on how its internal turmoil is resolved. Both al-Qaida and the Taliban have powerful bases in the region." Additionally, "It's just as plausible that the threat could come from... Mideast nations that want to keep up with Iran's nuclear program. With Egypt making its announcement last week, there are now 13 countries in the region that have in the last year said they want nuclear power." Investor's Business Daily concludes, "Since they hold the majority in Congress and might also take the White House next year, Democrats owe the nation more forward thinking on matters of national security. Missile defense is not a mere political issue to be used to score points. It's at the core of a real life-and-death struggle." (Article, Link)
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Lawmakers Cut Missile Defense Funds
November 6, 2007 :: AP :: News
On November 6, U.S. appropriators meeting from the House and Senate made a number of changes to the missile defense budget, for a total reduction of some $185 million dollars. The Air-Borne Laser was cut by $35 million, and the entire plan for studies for a space test bed was completely zeroed-out. The changes also included cutting $85 million requested by President Bush to build a facility to house ten Ground Based Interceptors in Poland, however the money designated for the X-band radar facility in the Czech Republic and the ten interceptors themselves was left intact. The bill still must be approved by both bodies of Congress, and Democrats have indicated they might restore the money should Poland's government agree to house the missiles and if the entire system undergoes extensive testing.
Summary of funding reductions and changes:
- Reduces funding for the European Site program by $85 million.
- Reduces funding for Airborne Laser (ABL) by $35 million.
- Zeroes out the Conceptual Studies of a Space Test Bed (STB).
- Reduces overall Missile Defense budget by $185 million.
- Fully funds Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
- Provides an additional $80 million for test and training range upgrades and supportand ground-based missile defense enhancements.
- Provides an additional $75 million for the Aegis program for the Ballistic Signal Processor, Standard Missiles, Ship installations and upgrades, and an asymmetric defense initiative.
- Adds $75 million for Arrow co-production, the Upper-tier program, and Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense. (Israeli programs)
- Provides an additional $120 million for the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program.
(Article, Link)
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Congress Boosts Funding For Arrow, SRBMD Programs
October 4, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Congress voted to increase funding for two joint U.S.-Israeli ballistic missile defense programs on September 29, reports Jane’s Defence Weekly. The Arrow weapon system, jointly produced by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Boeing, received a $127 million budget for fiscal year 2007, $3 million more than last year’s funding and $40 million more than the Bush administration requested from Congress. Of the $127 million, $63 million is allocated for the production of the Arrow 2 interceptor, and $64 million for the development of the Arrow 2 Block 3 and Block 4 upgraded versions. The system consists of high-altitude interceptors that are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles in the stratosphere during their final descent phase. Currently deployed, Arrow is Israel’s primary defense against intermediate-range Iranian missiles that could carry nuclear warheads.
In addition to its funding for Arrow, Congress approved $25 million for a feasibility study of a short-range ballistic missile defense (SRBMD) initiative currently being conducted by Israel’s Rafael Armament Development Authority and Raytheon. The two companies are designing a new interceptor, known as “Stunner” in the U.S. and “Kela David” in Israel. The program was initiated following the recent Lebanon war, during which Hezbollah fired over 4,000 short-range Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. Israel’s cost requirement was initially $100,000 per interceptor, although industry sources estimate the Stunner will cost around $300,000. The new SRBMD initiative is seeking to build a smaller, cheaper interceptor not exceeding $30,000, with a range of 40-200 km. Sources indicate, however, that the system will not be ready for deployment until 2011 at the earliest.
The Stunner technology, Jane’s reports, is based on “next-generation Rafael Python dual-wave imaging infra-red air-to-air missile technology and advanced low-cost Raytheon tactical missile technology, combined with a radar being developed by Israel Aircraft Industries’ Elta Systems.” (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Arrow
Congress Secures Additional $200 Million for Missile Defense
September 25, 2006 :: AP :: News
Congress has secured an additional $200 million for the U.S. missile defense system. The funding is in the annual defense spending bill that was approved by a U.S. House-Senate conference committee last week, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The additional funds will be spent on “test infrastructure, operations support and additional interceptors for ground-based missile defense.” The final defense spending bill calls for $9.4 billion for all missile defense programs except the Patriot system in the fiscal year beginning October 1. That amount is $110 million above President Bush’s request. Spending on comparable programs was $8.74 billion in the current fiscal year. Of the $9.4 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, $2.8 billion is earmarked for the ground-based system. The defense spending bill now heads to each congressional chamber for final passage. Amendments are not permitted.
Similar to last year, the Senate Appropriations Committee added language to the defense spending bill expressing dissatisfaction with the Missile Defense Agency’s direction: “The committee is concerned that MDA is investing too much funding in future systems and technology in advance of adequate testing and fielding of currently available technology.” Last year, the Committee’s defense panel, chaired by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), addressed the agency in similar terms. “Contrary to repeated Defense Department statements on spiral development and block upgrades for the missile defense program, MDA at best plans only marginal improvements to the capability of the GMD program’s ground-based interceptor,” it said then in its report. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
Japan Considers Sharp Rise in Missile Defense Spending
August 30, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Japan’s Defense Agency yesterday requested a more than 50 percent increase in its missile defense budget, reports the AFP. The article quotes an official in the Liberal Democratic Party, who stated that the agency has requested 219 billion yen ($1.87 billion) for missiles defenses, up 56.5 percent from the current year. The increased budget is mainly to pay for the early deployment of more Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missiles, but also includes costs for Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors for Aegis-equipped U.S. warships as well as advanced radars and joint research and development with the U.S. on missile interceptors. Japan is moving forward with efforts to build a joint missile defense system with the U.S. following North Korea’s July 5 test launch of seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including a long-range Taep’o-dong-2. The LDP official notes that the Defense Agency’s proposed total budget for fiscal year 2007 is up 1.5 percent from the current term to 4.86 trillion yen ($4.2 billion). (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Budget, Japan
» Missile system details for: Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Pentagon May Delay SBIRS to Trim Budget
August 30, 2006 :: MarketWatch :: News
The Pentagon may delay deployment of the third geosynchronous satellite for the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program due to budget constraints. SBIRS is intended as a constellation of high-orbiting infrared satellites designed to detect and track ballistic missiles of all sizes. It would include three large satellites that would circle the earth in high geosynchronous orbit, looking for missile launches and other threats. Each satellite would cover about a third of the earth’s surface, with additional help from two smaller polar-orbiting satellites and ground systems. In addition to their primary mission of detecting missile launches, the SBIRS satellites would also have sensors to track moving targets and perform a range of other duties for intelligence analysts and battlefield commanders. SBIRS would replace the aging Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites, which have provided early missile warning information for over 30 years.
Despite the program’s necessity, SBIRS is now considered a “prime target” as the Pentagon assembles its budget proposal for fiscal year 2008. To make room for more fighters and tankers, the U.S. Air Force may be forced to postpone purchasing the third SBIRS satellite. If the Air Force delays the third SBIRS satellite, it could potentially eliminate about $320 million from its FY 2008 plans and postpone about $1.3 billion in near-term follow-on funding, says defense analyst Jim McAleese of McAleese and Associates, a Washington-area government contracting law firm. Baseline SBIRS research funding on $700 million would probably continue, but purchases and deployments would be postponed, perhaps indefinitely. “The war on terror has significantly changed this administration’s focus on space. The levels of space funding growth that we initially anticipated at the beginning of Donald Rumsfeld’s tenure are not achievable,” McAleese said. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Space-Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High)
NORAD to Leave Cheyenne Mountain
July 29, 2006 :: Washington Post :: News
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will transfer its surveillance operations from Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to an office building near Peterson Air Force Base several miles away. The Washington Post reports that Cheyenne Mountain will be placed in “warm standby,” which means that it could be reopened in hours should the need arise. Despite the fact that the Pentagon spent about $700 million in early warning upgrades to Cheyenne Mountain following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Navy Admiral Timothy J. Keating, commander of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, created a group in February 2006 to consider moving the NORAD surveillance operation to Peterson AFB. The study recommended the move for operational and budgetary reasons, said a Northern Command statement yesterday. The purpose for housing the NORAD center underground was of course to shield the vital center from strategic attack.
According to The Washington Post, “the military concluded that it no longer needed to be concerned about an intercontinental nuclear missile”—a remarkable statement. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Budget, Nuclear Weapons, Policy
Senate Eliminates Funding for Conventionally Armed Trident-2 Missiles
July 25, 2006 :: Global Security Newswire :: News
On Thursday, July 20, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee cut funding for the Navy’s Conventional Trident Modification Program, a Bush administration plan to arm Trident-2 ballistic missiles deployed on submarines with conventional, as opposed to nuclear weapons. Global Security Newswire reports that the committee cut all but $5 million of the $127 million in initial funding for fiscal year 2007. It directed the remaining $5 million to merely fund a National Academy Sciences study, due March 15, 2007, that would analyze the military’s need for such a system, and recommend alternatives. Supporters of the Conventional Trident Modification Program have argued that it would give the U.S. a global strike weapon against elusive targets in the war on terrorism. Opponents have argued that such a weapon could cause Russia, China, or another third party to mistakenly perceive a U.S. nuclear missile attack. In a report accompanying the defense appropriation bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee wrote its belief that “fundamental issues about the use of this weapon must be addressed prior to investing in this effort.” It added: “It is not clear that other potentially less provocative alternatives, such as land and air-based options, have been considered.” (Article, Link)
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Congressman Hunter Vows to Accelerate Missile Defense Efforts
July 11, 2006 :: Navy Times :: News
Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, vowed Tuesday to increase U.S. missile defense spending, in light of North Korea’s recent test launch of a Taep’o-dong 2 long-range ballistic missile, reports Navy Times.
Congressman Hunter acknowledged that he had no specific dollar amount in mind, and he did not mention where the increased funds might best be used. Nevertheless, he suggested that there is still time to alter the 2007 defense authorization bill, which is now pending before a House-Senate conference committee. He added that the cost of increased missile defense assets would not necessarily require cutting other defense programs. (Article, Link)
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