Defense Appropriations Bill, FY 2010 | Missile Defense
For years, missile defense has been overfunded, but now the Obama administration has proposed to terminate or reduce several unproven and unnecessary anti-missile programs. For Fiscal Year 2010, the administration is requesting $9.3 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, roughly $1.6 billion less than the current budget of $10.9 billion.
The proposed reductions include termination of the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) and the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program; $1 billion less for the Space Based Infra-Red System-High (SBIRS-High); cancellation of the second proposed airborne laser (ABL) prototype aircraft; and halting deployment of interceptors in Alaska and California for the ground based mid-course missile defense system, leaving the total at 30. The administration requested an increase in funding for defenses against short-range and medium-range missiles, which currently threaten our troops and allies.
In July, missile defense supporters and special interests in the U.S. House of Representatives provided $80 million for the KEI program in the FY 2010 defense appropriations bill. This will undermine the plans of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who decided what cuts to make, and both Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Lt. General Patrick O’Reilly, director of the Missile Defense Agency, who actively support the decision to cancel the KEI program.
In congressional testimony, Secretary Gates said this about the KEI program:
“The original KEI mission grew from a boost phase only mission to a boost and mid-course mission. The development schedule grew from 5 1/2 years to 12 to 14 years (depending on spirals), program cost grew from $4.6B to $8.9B, and the missile average unit production cost grew from $25M to over $50M per interceptor. Technical issues delayed the first booster flight test date (established in 2007) by over a year and we assess the probability of this flight test occurring this year as very unlikely. Affordability and government requirements growth, not contractor performance, was the main contributor to KEI's execution problems. Given the above and that 15% of the $8.9B worth of work on contract till 2018 has been accomplished, the KEI program was terminated.” (House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, May 21, 2009)
Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that developing an effective system to defend against long-range missiles is very difficult and that the current mid-course system is easily “fooled” by relatively straightforward countermeasures. Any country with a credible long-range missile program could develop and deploy such countermeasures, such as balloon decoys.
The system the Bush administration deployed in California and Alaska remains unproven in a realistic operating environment. The few tests that have been conducted have been highly scripted, with the defense given advance information about the trajectory, characteristics, and launch time of the single incoming warhead.
In September, the Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider its version of the FY 2010 defense appropriations bill. UCS will be urging members of that committee, particularly members of the Defense Appropriation subcommittee, to not include funding for the KEI program or increased funding for any of the missile defense programs Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen have recommended reducing or canceling.
