In a recent paper published by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Uzi Rubin, former head of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, discusses the significant contribution that the Iron Dome defense system has made to Israel’s security and its implications for the future. America can learn from Israel’s cost–benefit analysis for the effectiveness of the system. Iron Dome is an anti-rocket active defense system that made its debut during the rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel this past April and August. Without even being declared to have initial operational capability, …
“The missile defense system we are establishing in Europe is not directed against Russia. We have said that publicly and privately, at many levels. We are prepared to put it in writing,” stated Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. This approach is headed in the wrong direction for many reasons and could negatively impact U.S. missile defense program in the future. There is no reason the U.S. missile defense system should not intercept a ballistic missile on its way toward its victims just because …
A week ago, the Spanish government of Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero agreed to Spain’s participation in NATO’s European missile defense system by allowing four U.S. Navy Aegis guided-missile destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class to be stationed at the naval base of Rota, in southwestern Spain. These destroyers are armed with the Standard SM-3 surface-to-air missile (SAM) designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. Navy destroyers will be based in Rota beginning in 2013, along with 1,100 servicemen and 100 civilian employees. Together with …
The missile defense budget has been on the chopping block ever since the Obama Administration took office. In 2009, President Obama proposed $1.6 billion in cuts compared to the prior year’s budget estimate. In 2010, the Administration proposed a modest increase in the missile defense budget for FY 2011 but only in comparison to the reduced level for FY 2010. This year’s missile defense budget request is still almost 2 percent in real dollars below what the Bush Administration requested for FY 2009. In short, the U.S. missile defense program …
The Obama Administration’s commitment to maintain the U.S. strategic triad appears to be fading, writes Mark Schneider, former special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during the New Strategic Arms Control Treaty (New START) negotiations. Indeed, experts at The Heritage Foundation have been pointing out problems with the Administration’s commitment since it announced its plans to sustain the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. Unfortunately, it seems that the White House’s commitment will not survive the first year after the treaty entered into force. During the New START debate, …
As Turkish representatives announced last week their decision to participate in the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), the Obama Administration’s plan for missile defense, there seems to be a misconception about EPAA’s capabilities. This week, The Washington Post wrote, “Development of a European missile shield accelerated under the George W. Bush administration. In September 2009, President Obama announced plans to construct a more extensive system in Europe that will be built in phases through 2020.” In fact, the EPAA is less extensive than where the Bush Administration was headed in …
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee decided to accept the Pentagon’s request for Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) funding, which will allow the system to enter its “Proof of Concept” phase. The committee’s decision came because costs associated with the termination of the program are at least as high as permitting the continuation of the “Proof of Concept” phase. This is a step in the right direction, because it will allow the Army to harvest technologies for the modernization of its Patriot system or to procure MEADS if the …
Last week, the Obama Administration made a step toward implementation of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), its four-phase ballistic missile defense plan for the protection of allies and friends in the European region. The Turkish foreign ministry announced its decision to host an X-band radar AN/TPY-2 in its territory. This is a welcome step in the development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) ballistic missile defense capability, which became a core competency of the alliance in November. Data from the radar in Turkey will be integrated with U.S. …
At the 2011 Space and Missile Defense Conference in Huntsville, Alabama, one could sense increasing concerns from engineers and scientists who support and contribute to the U.S. defense industrial base. The U.S. defense industrial base put a man on the moon, allowed the country to win the Cold War, and developed numerous technologies Americans use in everyday life. The type of education and advanced skill sets these men and women possess are invaluable to national security and the U.S. economy. These resources, once lost, would be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming …
Participants in the annual Space and Missile Defense Conference in Huntsville, AL, have a shared goal: protect the U.S. homeland, forward-deployed troops, and allies from a ballistic missile threat. The current fiscal environment and missile defense policies of the Obama Administration make this task ever more difficult. The most recent debt ceiling bill, unless repealed, will severely compromise U.S. national security. The law establishes a goal of reducing federal deficits by $1.5 trillion, while requiring automatic spending reductions of $1.2 trillion if the goal is not met. In the latter …
