A selected acquisition report (SAR) sent to Congress on April 13 indicated that the total missile defense development cost for 2002 through 2009 will be $62.9 billion, not $47.2 billion as was projected last year. The total, which includes only research, development, testing and evaluation, was included in the FY 04 budget request in February but was not broken down into elements at that point. $18 billion of the increase is due to engineering changes needed after U.S. President George W. Bush announced in December 2002 the development and eventual deployment of a layered missile defense system. $1.45 billion of the increase is needed to meet the 2004/2005 initial deployment deadline. The SAR also states that the increase is marginally offset by a $3.8 billion reduction, thanks to planned cuts in terminal phase missile defense programs.
Global Security Newswire, April 16, 2003

The United States has suggested to its Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) partners Germany and Italy that the program be merged into the Patriot missile defense program and that the MEADS management agency be dismantled. Pete Aldridge, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, wrote in April 22 letter to his counterparts in Germany and Italy that the U.S. proposal would improve performance, cut costs, and overall let MEADS become "a 'capabilities-based' international cooperation program with an evolutionary development acquisition strategy." Getting rid of the MEADS management agency would probably lessen Germany and Italy's decision-making abilities for the program. They respectively hold 28 percent and 17 percent of MEADS shares, but have equal say with the United States regarding the management agency. The United States has proposed that MEADS start merging with the Patriot in October; that would also be when the MEADS management agency would start to be disassembled. It is expected that the request will be discussed at a May 5 National Armaments Director Council meeting of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and United States.
Defense News, April 28, 2003

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has finished an environmental impact assessment (EIS) for putting up to 40 missile silos in Ft. Greely, Alaska. The current missile defense deployment strategy is to house only 16 interceptors in Ft. Greely by 2005. MDA spokesperson Lt. Col. Rick Lehner says that the EIS incorporates the effects of 40 missiles just in case the decision is made to deploy more later.
Defense Daily, April 24, 2003

On Friday, April 4, MDA announced that Raytheon had won a contract for the initial ballistic missile defense system radar. This contract as it stands is worth $350 million, but has options for a total of $800 million. As a condition of the contract, Raytheon must have a radar ready for testing by March 2005 and which must be capable of being operationally available after testing is over.
Defense Daily, April 7, 2003

Despite a congressional vote of no-confidence, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) continues to pursue Space-Based Laser (SBL)'s core technologies. The SBL had been originally planned to include a initial flight experiment (SBL-IFX) where a shoot-down test would be attempted, but the program lost most of its funding in the FY 02 defense appropriation due to doubts about its technological feasibility. Undaunted, MDA has reincarnated SBL as a laser technology program. Six projects have already been initiated and will be funded for a $22.5 million per year through FY 05. MDA has requested funding for an additional two to four laser programs in the FY 04 budget request, $9 million of which would go toward shuttering SBL-IFX facilities. MDA hopes to spend $47 million on SBL technologies in FY 04 and $292 million through FY 09.
Aerospace Daily, March 6, 2003

Israel Aircraft Industry (IAI) and Boeing signed a pre-production agreement in early February that would allow Boeing to become more involved in production of the Arrow missile defense program's interceptor, the Arrow-2. About half of the Arrow-2's component parts will be assembled by Boeing at an existing facility in Huntsville, AL. This agreement is the culmination of years of effort by IAI to get the Arrow-2 produced in the United States as a way of bulking up its stockpile of the interceptors. Only 50 percent of the Arrow's components can be produced in the United States because of Missile Technology Control Regime restrictions: even to get this pre-production agreement established, the State Department had to grant Boeing a Technical Assistance Agreement. Huntsville [AL] Times, Feb. 12, 2003

The U.S. Department of Defense has asked for $9.8 billion for missile defense programs in its FY 04 budget request. For a breakdown of the various programs and a comparison to last year's numbers, go to http://www.cdi.org/budget/2004/bmd.cfm

In a Jan. 27, 2003, letter to Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that Raytheon's design for the ground-based midcourse's exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) was not chosen because it was necessarily the best technologically, but because of Boeing's misuse of proprietary information. The Department of Defense spent $800 million over eight years to determine whether Boeing or Raytheon would win the EKV contract, only to be forced to hastily call off the competition in December 1998 and award it to Raytheon after discovering Boeing employees had misused proprietary software belonging to Raytheon. Boeing's EKV was kept on as a "hot back-up" and funded at about $4 million per month until three months after the fourth EKV flight test, held in January 2000. No punitive actions were ever taken against Boeing. In "Misconduct and missile defense: how Boeing engineers lost the EKV contract," CDI Research Associate Victoria Samson looks at the contract's tortuous history: http://www.cdi.org/missile-defense/gao.cfm.

On Monday, Jan. 27, the Pentagon announced it had awarded a $747 million contract to Boeing for the development of a sea-based X-band radar (XBR). This radar would be part of the Bush administration's push to deploy an initial missile defense system in 2004/2005. Defense Department officials would like the radar to be incorporated into the system by the fourth quarter of FY 05. Raytheon Electronic Systems, as the major subcontractor for the project, would do most of the work on the radar.
AFP, Jan. 28, 2003.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is taking more steps to create a space-based test bed that theoretically would provide some sort of boost phase intercept (BPI) capability. A concept design competition will be held in FY 04, tentatively to be followed by on-orbit tests of three to five satellites in FY 08 or FY 09. This space-based capability is viewed by the MDA as being an alternative to a ground-based BPI capability, a demonstration of which it hopes to hold by the end of 2009. MDA officials have not yet publicly acknowledged what consequences a space-based BPI capability would have on the debate over the weaponization of space.
Aerospace Daily, Jan. 22, 2003

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Economists Allied for Arms Reduction released a report on Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, titled, "The Full Costs of Ballistic Missile Defense." In it, they estimate that the entire life-cycle cost of all the various missile defense programs being examined by the Bush administration could range from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion. The report also discusses the implications that sort of massive outlay of public funding would have on the federal budget, the U.S. economy, and the defense industry in general. For the report, please go to http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/nmd/ECAAR_report.pdf.

Defense Daily reports (Dec. 17, 2002) that U.S. Army and Boeing officials are hoping to revive the Kinetic-Energy Anti-Satellite (KE-ASAT) program to the point where a flight test could be held in the near future. Program officials are pushing to include funding in the FY 04 budget request and claim that an on-orbit demonstration would run about $60 million. The KE-ASAT program was initially cancelled by the Clinton administration over concerns that it would spark a race to weaponize space; it was later given a small amount of funding to allow work to slowly continue on developing three KE-ASAT kill vehicles. Critics, including former head of Space Command Gen. Ralph Eberhart, are concerned that the KE-ASAT program could hurt U.S. space assets.

A $341 million contract was given to Lockheed Martin to continue Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 production, Bloomberg.news reports (Jan. 7, 2003). This contract will allow Lockheed Martin to deliver 88 more missiles and related ground electronics by 2005. The funding was included in the FY 03 Defense Authorization (the budget also stipulates $100 million for the purchase of more PAC-3s, but these are not included in the Lockheed contract). The $341 million comes on top of $860 million that Lockheed Martin already has been contracted for its PAC-3 work.

The U.S. Navy is developing the Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), a missile that would use its own radar, not its ship's, to lock in on a target. Two versions are being considered for the program: a "marinized and modified" version of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 missile; or a new weapon that combines the seeker of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) with the booster of the Standard Missile. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are competing for this contract. While the project has only received $6 million so far, development costs are estimated to range up to several hundred million dollars. The ERAM has the potential to counter Scuds, cruise missiles, and aircraft, so it might be able to replace the now-defunct Navy Area Wide missile defense system.
Defense Week, Dec. 16, 2002

The 45-day delay of the Ground-based Midcourse missile defense program's integrated flight test (IFT)-9 cost Boeing $11 million. The test, finally held Oct. 14, was postponed due to technical problems with the booster rocket. Because IFT-9 ended in a successful intercept, Boeing could expect $34 million out the possible $45 million available for performance bonuses. The docked $11 million was reserved in case the next flight test demonstrated "superior performance," in the words of Missile Defense Agency spokesperson Lt. Col. Rick Lehner. However, since that test, IFT-10, was a failure, it is unlikely that Boeing will get the remains of the bonus left from IFT-9. Also uncertain is how much, if any, Boeing will get of the $44 million bonus available for the failed IFT-10. Boeing has a five-year, $6.4 billion contract to manage the development of the MDA's layered missile defense programs. In addition, Boeing can earn up to $942 million in bonuses, over half of which ($565 million) rest upon successful flight tests. In IFT-6 through IFT-8, all of which had intercepts, Boeing got the entire bonus amount possible twice and most of it (88%) once (that small penalty was in response to a test delay). Bloomberg.com, Dec. 10, 2002

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee is said to be squeamish about a recent DoD request to transfer $64 million from midcourse missile defense programs (out of its FY 03 $3.2 billion budget) to the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 program. This shift was proposed in order to speed production of the PAC-3 interceptor so it may be used in any action taken against Iraq. The $64 million would double monthly production of the PAC-3 from four to eight missiles starting in January. It also would provide 12 missiles on top of that increase to meet a production gap between FY 03 and FY 04 buys. However, support for the proposed shift is shaky among some of the subcommittee members who firmly support the midcourse missile defense systems. A decision on the issue may not be made until Congress comes back into session next month. Aerospace Daily, Dec. 9, 2002

The FY 03 Defense Authorization bill includes a provision requiring the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to give Congress a life cycle cost estimate of the struggling Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense program by February 2003. Noting that MDA would have to create a development schedule and planned procurement schedule to make this estimate, the conferees stated that they “expect that MDA will provide the congressional defense committees the basis for understanding the THAAD life cycle cost estimate.” This cost estimate was already required by the FY 02 Defense Authorization bill for all programs – like THAAD - that are in their Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase. To encourage MDA to deliver the cost estimate, defense authorizers have limited spending of the THAAD program to 85% of its FY 03 authorization until they receive the information requested. In another portion of the FY 03 Defense Authorization bill, Congress directed the Pentagon to include performance goals and development baselines for each block of each missile defense system that could be fielded and for missile defense systems designated by Congress as “special interest items.” This information is to be included in the annual budget justification materials. Finally, authorizers asked the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to do a one-time review of the cost, schedule, and performance criteria for the missile defense programs.

Negotiations between the United States and Russia over the Russian-American Observation Satellite (RAMOS) are back on track, according to Jane's Defense Weekly (Nov. 6, 2002). Described as "very encouraging" by Missile Defense Agency head Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, the bilateral talks are building up the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) needed for the program to proceed. The MOU will create the legal framework necessary for the two missile-tracking satellites to be built and launched (late FY 07 and FY 08 is the timeframe developers are hoping for right now). RAMOS' estimated lifetime cost of $300 million will be covered by the United States. Also an American responsibility is the development of the infrared sensors and "pushbroom" cameras for the satellites' payload. Russia will build and launch the satellites, as well as provide the ground control stations. Both countries are to have access to the data collected by RAMOS.

The Pentagon may accelerate its production of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 missile "out of concern for near-term vulnerabilities," said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz in an Oct. 24 speech. The Defense Acquisition Board will review the program on Oct. 31; a production decision may be made at that point. MDA had planned on shifting the PAC-3 into low-rate initial production this fall, but after the unexpected problems which materialized during operational testing this past spring, decided to delay that move a year so additional testing could be held. Presently the military has taken delivery of 38 missiles, with 15 more en route in December and 126 due in 2003-2004. Not satisfied with that delivery schedule, Congress appropriated funding for the purchase of 88 PAC-3 missiles in FY 03.
Aerospace Daily, Oct. 25, 2002

In a victory for critics of missile defense, the FY 03 Defense appropriations bill bars using funds for "research, development, testing, evaluation, procurement or deployment of nuclear-armed interceptors for a missile defense system." This has calmed hackles raised six months ago when the head of the Defense Science Board mentioned the possibility of MDA studying the use of nuclear-tipped interceptors for missile defense.
Global Security Newswire, Oct. 22, 2002

The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) partnership of the United States, Germany and Italy may soon have a fourth member. British officials have unofficially expressed interest in joining MEADS when the program reaches its design and development phase, presently scheduled to begin in 2004. MEADS is currently in its risk reduction phase, which has been slowed by technology transfer concerns raised by the United States.

Aviation Week and Space Technology reports (Oct. 14, 2002) that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is continuing to reallocate its priorities by putting more emphasis on the quicker development of a kinetic energy (KE) boost-phase capability. MDA head Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish has placed the former director, Terry Little, of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), and Small Diameter Bomb projects in charge of the MDA's KE boost program. The MDA is hoping to speed up the development of a KE boost phase-intercept capability; it also is looking to develop a multi-use interceptor that some think could possibly be used as a missile replacement for the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 or Theater High Altitude Area Defense systems. Currently, the first boost-phase intercept weapon is scheduled to be ready by 2008.

In its planned FY 04 budget, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is hoping that responsibility for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) will shift to the Army, a move that has been approved by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and needs final authorization by Congress. Under the operating methods adopted by MDA in January 2001, it would be charged with developing systems and would turn over programs to the services once they had reached their operational stages. MEADS is to use the PAC-3 missile as an interceptor, which suffered several unexpected and serious setbacks during operational testing this spring; it is improbable that MEADS as a whole is operational. Supporters of MEADS fear that this move is a pretext for its cancellation as the Army is struggling to fund its existing projects. MEADS has been strained by squabbling amongst partners United States, Germany and Italy over funding and technology transfers.
Defense Daily, Oct. 10, 2002

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) recently surprised parts of its missile defense team by looking into shifting responsibility for developing test targets from the Army to the Air Force. Commander of the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command Lt. Gen. Joseph Cosumano complained in a Sept. 25 letter to MDA head Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish that the proposed move was "a complete surprise" and had not been coordinated with his office. If the transfer proceeds as suggested, the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Center (located at the Los Angeles AFB) will be charged with overseeing the development of all targets and countermeasures to be used in all missile defense tests. The anticipated move is part of MDA's effort to counter assertions by critics that the targets used in tests so far have been too simple and not representative of threats the missile defense system would encounter in hostile circumstances.
Defense Daily, Oct. 4, 2002

Defense authorizers in the Senate are urging that the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 be tested against Scud missile targets before the PAC-3 is used in combat. $30 million has been included in the FY 03 defense authorization's classified annex so that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) can carry out these tests. Not everyone supports this initiative. The MDA claims that actual Scuds cannot be used at the PAC-3 test ranges because of safety concerns; House defense authorizers did not include funding for this; and the Army is concerned about the availability of Scuds for testing. But because Scuds are wildly erratic due to their shoddy composition, many agree that it is important to see how the PAC-3 fares against them, especially given the unexpected problems that came out during the PAC-3's operational testing earlier this year.
Defense Daily, Sept. 19, 2002

As part of a renewed effort to grapple with the problems countermeasures pose to missile defense programs, the Pentagon will award a $400-500 million annual contract this May. The contractor will be in charge of developing and integrating target systems that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) would like to be increasingly complex so that testing can become more realistic. Also on the drawing board is an effort led by Boeing to develop a Complementary Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (CEKV). The CEKV would eventually replace the Raytheon kill vehicle that has been used thus far for ground-based midcourse (GMD) missile defense testing and would have active and passive sensors. MDA would prefer to use the CEKV concurrently with the sea-based midcourse system, presuming that the different kinds of sensors could pool their data and be better equipped to handle countermeasures.
Aviation Weekly and Space Technology, Sept. 16, 2002

Lockheed Martin, primary contractor for the troubled Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS)-High, saw an enormous increase in support for its work on the program. The contract's value was inflated from $2 billion to $4.1 billion at the same time its length was extended from 2007 to 2010. This step was taken in reaction to recent concerns about Nunn-McCurdy violations due to cost over-runs (the overall cost of the program more than doubled to $8 billion) and delays in its schedule. The earliest launch of SBIRS-High, instead of occurring in the fall of 2004, will be at best in late 2006. Yet the industry team (Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman) has received $40 million in bonuses for an "exceptional performance" - over 50% of the bonus funding available in the contract - which neatly counters the $38 million worth of fines the team has accrued in penalties since the middle of 1999. SBIRS-High's management has been rearranged so that it is under increased scrutiny by the Pentagon; earlier, it had been run under a system where the contractor held most of the authority on how the program functioned. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition Pete Aldridge says that SBIRS-High is now "properly priced," is on the "proper schedule," and is "back on track."
Bloomberg.com, Sept. 9, 2002; Aerospace Daily, Aug. 27, 2002

The latest DoD select acquisition report (SAR) to Congress shows that the cost estimate for Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS)-High has been raised again. SBIRS-High is being developed for to bulwark early missile warning, battlespace characterization, and technical intelligence gathering capabilities and is planned to replace the rapidly-aging military satellite network, the Defense Support Program. The SAR, dated June 30, 2002, estimates that SBIRS-High will cost $8.4 billion — an increase of $1.68 billion from earlier estimates. SBIRS-High’s inclusion in this SAR reflects a more realistic cost study recently done by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Cost Analysis Improvement Group (CAIG), which was used to certify to Congress that SBIRS-High should continue despite breaching Nunn-McCurdy program cost growth restrictions. Because the CAIG is concerned only with estimates, not budgets, its numbers are generally higher and more reliable than those of the services. (http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2002/b08202002_bt432-02.html)

A contract worth up to $868.7 million has been awarded to TRW in which it will take over the beleaguered Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS)-Low missile defense tracking system. TRW is to develop and produce two satellites, with the possibility of making eight more, and will aim for a first launch in 2007 (two years behind the original SBIRS-Low schedule). This comes after the April 2002 reorganization of the program in an attempt to get it back on schedule, a plan which put TRW in the primary contractor position and former competitors Spectrum Astro and Northrop-Grumman as subs. In addition to speeding up SBIRS-Low's development, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) hopes that costs can be cut as well: the program was originally to cost $5.2 billion to develop and $11.3 billion to deploy, but a House panel last year estimated that the cost will more likely be $23 billion. Bloomberg.com, Aug. 16, 2002

The Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 had been scheduled to go up in front of DoD's Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) in September to determine whether it should ramp up into full-rate production (FRP), but due to operational test failures and a lack of clarity of how the PAC-3 fits into the MDA's new acquisition process, this decision may be delayed. The PAC-3 missile performed well during developmental testing but suffered numerous problems during operational testing, causing some to wonder if the developmental testing was sufficiently rigorous and realistic. PAC-3 program managers downplay the problems during operational testing, chalking the failures to "anomalies" that can easily be corrected, but admit that more live-fire tests are needed. Since no funding was allotted for live-fire testing during 2003, this will have to wait until 2004. In the meantime, the program will continue its low-rate initial production (LRIP) of 72 missiles per year (under the original schedule, the amount of output during the first two years of FRP would have been the same as during the LRIP). The DAB will decide whether to shift the PAC-3 into FRP, but the September meeting date is no longer certain. Additional confusion is caused by the revamped MDA's acquisition process, in which the PAC-3's role as the only marginally operational missile defense system is unclear. Aerospace Daily, Aug. 13, 2002

In a Senate Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing on July 29, two conflicting official mindsets emerged regarding Israel's proposal to sell the Arrow missile interceptor to India, setting up yet another clash between the State Department and DoD. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Vann Van Diepen worried that the sale of the missile defense technology would heighten tension between India and Pakistan and that "there would be issues that one would have to consider of that nature in deciding whether or not to go ahead with such a sale." This contrasted with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Marshall Billingslea's assertion that since missile defenses are an "inherently stabilizing concept," the United States should support the sale. The Pentagon co-developed the Arrow missile interceptor with Israel and thus has to approve the sale. Complicating matters further are Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) concerns. The Arrow can propel a 500 kilogram payload over 300 kilometers, making it a Category 1 - or most sensitive - system that ostensibly should not be proliferated under the MTCR's non-legally binding guidelines. Israel has already sold India the Green Pines radar it created for the Arrow interceptor. Global Security Newswire, July 30, 2002

Boeing signed agreements with three European defense contractors during the recent Fainborough International Air Show 2002. Alenia Spazo, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), and BAE all will be cooperating with Boeing, the lead systems integrator for ground-based midcourse missile defense, on various missile defense projects. BAE however has a head start as it already has a security clearance arrangement with the Pentagon and can begin work fairly quickly on contracts. Previously, BAE had collaborated on the Theater High Altitude Area Defense's seeker. This tying of European jobs to the missile defense industry comes at the same time the Bush administration is sending teams to twelve European capitals to promote its missile defense program. Defense News, July 29 - August 4, 2002

Defense Week reports (July 29, 2002) that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is taking advantage of a law initially designed to lure new cutting-edge firms into Pentagon projects. Under the "other transactions" category, nearly all regulations are waived, eliminating cost data certification and auditing requirements, among other reporting procedures. When the MDA was re-organized in January 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld allowed for it to use the "other transactions" category for all "basic, applied and advanced research." Because the agency is responsible for all missile defense development until the programs are ready for procurement, this gives the defense contractors involved an open rein. Companies benefiting from this include the nation's two largest defense contractors, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin - hardly the recipients intended by the 1989 law's authors.

The Senate's defense appropriations subcommittee approved of $7.8 billion for missile defense programs as part of the FY'03 defense bill but allowed for $814 million to be shifted to anti-terrorism programs. It made some changes in funding for various programs. The joint U.S.-Israel Arrow system came out ahead: it was given $10 million more for improving the Arrow system and an extra $70 million to start U.S. co-production of the Israeli missile used in Arrow. Other programs were not so fortunate. Space-Based Infrared Systems-High (SBIRS-High) lost $100 million in funding; sea-based midcourse, $40 million; sea-based boost phase intercept, $25 million; space-based interceptors' general account, $21.3 million; and space-based laser, $10 million. The full Senate Appropriations committee is expected to take up the FY'03 defense bill today, July 18.

In a vote of 97-2, the Senate approved the Bush administration's FY'03 request of $7.8 billion for missile defense funding. There was a slight catch, though. The Senate Armed Services Committee had earlier cut $814 million in its recommended authorization for missile defense. The White House threated to veto the entire defense bill for FY'03 if the funds were not restored, prompting a compromise: Sen. John Warner,R-Va., put out an amendment stating that the $814 million could be used for missile defense or counter-terrorism programs; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., changed the wording so that the final language gave counterterrorism higher funding priority. House and Senate conferees have to meet this month to determine what the final FY'03 defense bill will be. A related missile defense amendment adopted by voice vote on June 27 is that the MDA must send Congress classified and unclassified reports within 120 days of a missile defense test. This was done to ensure that the programs will stil have some sort of oversight.
Congressional Quarterly Weekly, June 29, 2002

In a vote of 97-2, the Senate approved the Bush administration's FY'03 request of $7.8 billion for missile defense funding. There was a slight catch, though. The Senate Armed Services Committee had earlier cut $814 million in its recommended authorization for missile defense. The White House threated to veto the entire defense bill for FY'03 if the funds were not restored, prompting a compromise: Sen. John Warner,R-Va., put out an amendment stating that the $814 million could be used for missile defense or counter-terrorism programs; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., changed the wording so that the final language gave counterterrorism higher funding priority. House and Senate conferees have to meet this month to determine what the final FY'03 defense bill will be. A related missile defense amendment adopted by voice vote on June 27 is that the MDA must send Congress classified and unclassified reports within 120 days of a missile defense test. This was done to ensure that the programs will stil have some sort of oversight.
Congressional Quarterly Weekly, June 29, 2002

Legislation released today shows that in total, missile defense programs came out $74 million poorer in the House Appropriations FY'03 defense bill. The joint U.S.-Israeli Arrow program garnered an extra $64 million, while the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 system got an additional $95 million for more missiles and tests. However, other missile defense programs were not as fortunate. The Russian-American Observation Satellite program, intended to bulwark Russia's faltering early-warning capabilities, was zeroed out. The committee report does note that if a memorandum of agreement is signed between the two countries, the funding could get reinstated. The Airborne Laser program also lost funding: cuts that are anticipated to be around $60 million and are mostly an attempt to prevent the purchase of a second test aircraft. And Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS)-High lost $70 million. The full House is expected to take up the defense bill later this week. It is unknown when the Senate will discuss its defense bill, but a fight is anticipated by Senate Republicans to reinstate the $814 million worth of cuts from missile defense programs by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Aerospace Daily, June 25, 2002

The lawsuit being brought against the administration by members of Congress in an attempt to clarify who has the right to withdraw the United States from the ABM Treaty was dealt a serious blow on June 20. The Senate Ethics Committee determined that Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) could not be a plaintiff in the lawsuit by denying him the waiver needed to accept the free legal assistance. While Feingold has vowed to continue supporting the legal action, the absence of any Senators from the plaintiffs will very likely weaken the case.
Madison Capital Times, June 22, 2002

The United States officially withdraws from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty today. This step comes six months after President Bush first announced that the United States would pull out of the arms control agreement. The act is being taken in spite of a lawsuit by 31 members of Congress who filed suit in a federal court in Washington, D.C., on June 11, claiming that the president cannot withdraw from a treaty without congressional concurrence. The primary reason given for the withdrawal from the ABM Treaty is that it is preventing R&D that would allow a 2004 limited deployment of a missile defense system. On June 11, CDI Senior Advisor Philip E. Coyle testified to the House Government Reform Committee about the level of development of the missile defense system, and pointed out that a 2004 deployment is highly unlikely, treaty or not. For his written testimony, go to http://www.cdi.org/missile-defense/Coyle-testimony-061102-pr.cfm.

In response to concerns that a single kill vehicle in a missile defense system would not be able to intercept enemy warheads that have countermeasures, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has recommended in its markup of the FY'03 Defense Authorization bill that $10 million be spent on researching multiple small kill vehicles. Proponents claim that this is an excellent way to lessen the challenge of discriminating decoys from enemy warheads, as the multiple kill vehicles on a single interceptor theoretically increase its chance of a successful interception. However, there are many technical difficulties involved, as well as significant cost considerations. The FY'03 Defense Authorization still needs to undergo a floor vote. Inside the Pentagon, June 6, 2002

CDI Senior Advisor Dr. G. Wayne Glass has written a thorough analysis of the history and current problems surrounding the Russian-American Observation Satellite (RAMOS) Program. In "U.S. and Russian Cooperation on Missile Defense: How likely?" he details the steps leading up to the current impasse and explains how, if the United States is serious about cooperating with Russia on missile defense issues, RAMOS would be an excellent start.
FOR COMPLETE TEXT VISIT: http://www.cdi.org/missile-defense/ramos.cfm

Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS)-High was recently saved from extinction, despite egregious Nunn-McCurdy breaches in cost-growth. Pentagon acquisition chief Pete Aldridge certified to Congress that the early warning system was necessary for national security purposes and recommended that it be funded fully in FY'04-'09. However, the U.S. Air Force must create a new baseline and acquisition strategy for the program within three months and a report must be made to Aldridge by January 2003 on SBIRS-High's progress. And it is not entirely in the clear yet: $100 million was cut from its budget in the Senate Armed Services' markup of the FY'03 Defense Authorization bill.
InsideDefense.com, May 7, 2002

Missile defense programs lost nearly a billion dollars in the Senate Armed Services' markup of the FY'03 Defense Authorization bill. Instead of the $7.6 billion requested by the Bush Administration, the SASC authorized $6.8 billion. Specifically, $100 million was cut from the struggling SBIRS-High program. Most of the funds freed up by the cuts in missile defense were earmarked for ship-building programs, but over $100 million was designated for increased security at nuclear facilities.
Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 2002

Defense Daily (May 15) reports that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will now classify details of upcoming flight tests of the ground-based midcourse missile defense (GMD) program. Said MDA spokesperson Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, "It will our policy to no longer offer specifics about the targets or countermeasures used in the flight tests." The justification given was that the tests are getting very complex and the MDA is concerned about the release of sensitive information hurting national security. However, critics of the program wonder if this is an attempt to duck oversight or quelch scrutiny of the realism of the tests. Defense Daily, May 15, 2002