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...
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 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...
Hit-to-kill ballistic missile defense is the ultimate precision guidance challenge. Many elements of a defense must come together to achieve a long range intercept. One of the most important and difficult parts is known as mid-course discrimination. Watch the Video After a ballistic missile launches, its engines burn hot and can be detected by infrared...
This study explores the growing competition for scarce dollars at the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). It traces the authorities, roles, and missions assigned to the agency and the growing trend of using what was originally intended to be a research and development budget for procurement and sustainment of missile defense assets. As adversary missile...
Explore high resolution graphs analyzing decades of U.S. missile defense budget trends featured in the CSIS report The Missile Defense Agency and the Color of Money: Fewer Resources, More Responsibilities, and a Growing Budget Squeeze. Click on the graphs to access the full resolution image.
For decades, the United States has led the effort to stem the spread of nuclear weapons, both among potential adversaries and among its allies and partners. The current state of deterrence and of the nonproliferation regime, however, is open to many doubts...
