Ballistic Missile Proliferation and WMD Cited as Greatest Threats: Missile Defense Agency

One of the greatest threats facing the world today is the increasing proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. Non-proliferation activities, to include diplomacy and arms control agreements with Russia, have been successful in reducing this threat.

Despite reductions in the number of weapons deployed by the United States and the former Soviet Union, ballistic missile proliferation continues on a wide scale today and could increase as the technology is transferred. Countries make these investments because ballistic missiles provide them with the means to project power both in a regional and strategic context and a capability to launch an attack from a distance. A country with no ballistic missiles today may acquire them in a very short period of time, and these missiles could become available to nonstate terrorist groups.

Through its capabilities for defending critical nodes, military assets, and seats of government, missile defense enhances non-proliferation activities. In other words, missile defenses can provide a permanent presence in a region and discourage adversaries from believing they can use ballistic missiles to coerce or intimidate the U.S. or its allies.

In times of crisis, we can surge mobile missile defense capabilities into a region to enhance deterrence and, if a missile is launched, improve protection of critical assets and limit damage over a wide area. The ultimate goal of missile defense is to convince countries that ballistic missiles are not militarily useful or a worthy investment and place doubt in the minds of potential aggressors that a ballistic missile attack against the United States or its allies can succeed.

Missile defense technology being developed, tested and deployed by the United States is designed to counter ballistic missiles of all ranges—short, medium, intermediate and long. Since ballistic missiles have different ranges, speeds, size and performance characteristics, the Ballistic Missile Defense System is an integrated, “layered” architecture that provides multiple opportunities to destroy missiles and their warheads before they can reach their targets.

The system’s architecture includes: networked sensors (including space-based) and ground- and sea-based radars for target detection and tracking; on ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles for destroying a ballistic missile using either the force of a direct collision, called “hit-to-kill” technology, or an explosive blast fragmentation warhead; and a command, control, battle management, and communications network providing the operational commanders with the needed links between the sensors and interceptor missiles.
Missile defense elements are operated by United States military personnel from U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Forces Japan, U.S. European Command and others. The United States has missile defense cooperative programs with a number of allies, including United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and many others. The Missile Defense Agency also actively participates in NATO activities to maximize opportunities to develop an integrated NATO ballistic missile defense capability.

Field Capabilities From its establishment in early 2002 through the end of 2015, the Missile Defense Agency is fielding a Ballistic Missile Defense System consisting of:

• 30 Ground-Based Interceptors for long-range homeland defense, The GMD FY17 program plan supports the Secretary of Defense mandate to deploy 44 GBIs by the end of 2017;

• Aegis warships capable of long-range surveillance and tracking and missile intercepts;

• Standard Missile-3 interceptors for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships and the Aegis Ashore sites in Romania;

• an upgraded Cobra Dane radar in the Aleutian Islands; upgraded early warning radars (currently Beale Air Force Base, Calif., Fylingdales, U.K., and Thule, Greenland);

• 12 transportable X-band radars for operations and testing;

• a sea-based X-band radar now located in the Pacific Ocean to support flight testing and actual defensive operations; and an integrated Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications element across the BMDS.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a research, development, and acquisition agency within the Department of Defense. Our workforce includes government civilians, military service members, and contractor personnel in multiple locations across the United States. We are focused on retaining and recruiting a dedicated workforce interested in supporting our national security.