February 14, 2011 :: Department of Defense :: News
The Obama administration has released their defense budget proposal for the year. $10.7 billion is being allocated to BMD, with $8.6 billion going to the Missile Defense Agency. Just over $2 billion is apportioned to help implement the 'Phased Adaptive' European missile shield; given other recent reports, this money appears to have come from defense cuts elsewhere; so far, the administration has not been forthcoming with information about where exactly those cuts might come from. The department's summary of the BMD funding says that $780 million will be put toward various BMD programs, including the planned installation of the remaining Ground-Based Interceptors in Alaska (in the last few years, the planned number of GBIs has been reduced, as resources have been shifted to "higher priority" BMD efforts like the European shield—the interceptors are a key component of any defense against long-range missiles launched against the U.S.).
Given the emphasis under the Obama administration on the mid-range threat to Europe posed by Iran—rather than any long-range threat to the U.S.—possible further shifts in resources from projects like long-range homeland missile defense are not out of the question. As negotiations with the House get underway, more budget details will soon start emerging. (Article)
