In Depth Analysis, Commentary, and Publications
This page provides downloadable versions of all illustrations found in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. Illustrations are organized by chapter, in the order of their appearance in the report beginning in Chapter 1. Follow the links below to jump to a specific chapter. Click the images for higher resolution. All graphs...
Should North Korea fire a long-range ballistic missile in anger, America’s only line of defense is an integrated system of interceptors and sensors known as the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD). The program currently provides a thin layer of defense against small-scale attacks of relatively unsophisticated missiles. This level of protection, however, will be strained...
Gaps in coverage leave interceptors less-equipped to defeat the threats of tomorrow. No missile defense is better than the sensors that tell the interceptors where to go and what to kill. The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, draws upon considerably more sensors for homeland defense than when operations began in 2004, but shortfalls remain....
This chart shows the Missile Defense Agency budget movements made by each committee in both the House and Senate. The green highlighted columns show the final totals of the authorization and appropriations acts. Ultimately, the appropriations bill sets the final total for Missile Defense Agency spending in fiscal year 2017. The final column shows the...
The defense authorization act signed into law in December 2016 contained an important provision mandating a review of missile defeat policy, strategy, and capability, to be completed and submitted to Congress in January 2018. This Missile Defeat Review (MDR) appears likely to serve as a successor to both the Department of Defense’s 2010 Ballistic Missile...
In the series finale of the television show Breaking Bad, chemistry teacher-turned meth kingpin Walter White breaks into the home of an ex-business partner, who out of fear arms himself with a butter knife. “If we’re gonna go that way,” White says dryly, “you’ll need a bigger knife.” The man knows he cannot compete, and...
The national defense authorization act signed into law in 2016 contained a provision mandating a review of missile defeat policy, strategy, and capability, to be completed and submitted to Congress by January 2018...
Note: This appears as Chapter 3 in Missile Defense and Defeat: Consideration for the New Policy Review. Anticipating the 2017 Review of U.S. Missile Defense Policy and Posture Brad Roberts As the new national security team comes together in early 2017, it will launch into a number of major policy reviews, some of its own...
Note: This appears as Chapter 4 in Missile Defense and Defeat: Consideration for the New Policy Review. Missile Defense Review 2.0 Henry A. Obering III Since 2004, ballistic missile defense (BMD) has become a core competency of the U.S. military and a key element of our overall national security strategy. When discussing the future of...
Note: This appears as Chapter 5 in Missile Defense and Defeat: Consideration for the New Policy Review. A Vector Check for America’s Missile Defense: Assessing the Course for the Trump Administration Kenneth Todorov The reality of a Trump administration has given rise to a wave of euphoria about increased Pentagon budgets, new possibilities for hawkish...
