In Depth Analysis, Commentary, and Publications
Note: This appears as Chapter 6 in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. Future Options This study has so far examined the policy and strategic context for homeland missile defense, the historical background and basis for today’s architecture, the state of GMD today, and currently planned upgrades. We turn now to additional...
Note: This appears as Chapter 4 in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. Ground-based Interceptor Development Perhaps the most recognizable component of homeland missile defense is the Ground-based Interceptor (GBI) itself, which represents the product of a long line of hit-to-kill interceptors dating back to the 1980s (Figure 4.1). Many of the...
Note: This appears as Chapter 3 in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. The State of Homeland Missile Defense Today Today’s homeland missile defense efforts rest on an integrated system encompassing a wide range of sensors, interceptors, and command and control mechanisms. Since late 2004, these have provided a limited defensive capability...
Note: This appears as Chapter 5 in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. Sensors and Command and Control No missile defense system is better than the sensors and command and control systems that determine where the threat is and how to kill it. While interceptors tend to capture the imagination, sensors are...
Note: This appears as Chapter 1 in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. Homeland Missile Defense in U.S. Strategy Missile defenses for the homeland now represent an established part of U.S. national security strategy and policy, and the first priority of U.S. missile defense efforts, even while the particular programs, budget levels,...
Note: This appears as Chapter 2 in Missile Defense 2020: Next Steps for Defending the Homeland. Chapter 2: The Evolution of Homeland Missile Defense The homeland missile defenses fielded today and those under consideration for the future are shaped by two basic factors: the fundamentals of how missile defense works and past policy and programmatic...
Protecting the homeland is regularly identified as the top priority of U.S. missile defense efforts. This mission is dependent upon a global network of sensors and interceptors, including the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD. The formal prioritization of homeland missile defense, however, has not always been reflected in the budget. Watch the Video: Today’s...
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....
