Trump’s Blind Spot
New missile defense plans depend upon the success or failure of one thing: a new layer of space-based sensors. At the January release of his administration’s new missile defense policy…
Author: Tom Karako
Coup-proofing? Making Sense of Turkey’s S-400 Decision
On July 12, Turkey received the first elements of the S-400, a fourth-generation surface-to-air Russian missile system. Few recent weapon sales have been as geopolitically charged as this one. U.S….
Act Now to Advance Air and Missile Defense
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan has warned that the U.S. has come to take military superiority for granted, as a kind of birthright. Perhaps no aspect of military superiority…
The Missile Defense Review: Insufficient for Complex and Integrated Attack
The 2018 National Defense Strategy calls renewed strategic competition with major powers the central challenge of our time. The 2019 Missile Defense Review (MDR) represents the Trump administration’s attempt to…
Masterpiece Theater: Missed Opportunities for Missile Defense in the 2020 Budget
Download the PDF The Issue: The Trump administration’s proposed 2020 budget is not a masterpiece for missile defense. Its actions are inadequate to the challenge of complex and integrated air…
The 2019 Missile Defense Review: A Good Start
The Trump administration has today released its long-awaited Missile Defense Review (MDR). Initiated pursuant to both congressional and presidential direction, the report represents an attempt to adapt U.S. missile defense…
Beyond the Radar Archipelago: A New Roadmap for Missile Defense Sensors
In missile defense circles, commentators frequently remark that that there are only so many islands or ships in the Pacific on which to put radars. Reading through recent missile defense…
Don’t Dumb Down This US Army Radar
Abandoning 360-degree coverage would make air defenses more vulnerable and undermine their mission Press reports and statements from U.S. Army leadership suggest that omnidirectional capability for the Lower Tier Air…
Reorganizing the Missile Defense Enterprise
Rethinking the push for program transfer When the U.S. Missile Defense Agency was created in 2002, the expectation was that it would initially develop missile defense systems but then transfer…
Shield of the Pacific: Japan as a Giant Aegis Destroyer
Key Points: Japan’s acquisition of two Aegis Ashore sites will be a significant step to boost air and missile defense capabilities for the region, but their potential has not yet…