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The Department of Defense (DOD) has released its Ballistic Missile Defense Review, conducted from March 2009 through January 2010. Download the 61-page report in PDF.

In assessing the ballistic missile threat around the world, DOD found the threat to be growing. As technology improves, missiles are becoming more accurate and farther-reaching. Ballistic missile systems are also more flexible and mobile. These trends are particularly disturbing as rogue states continue developing long-range weapons and nuclear capability. Last year, Iran test-fired the long-range Sajjil-2 missile, capable of reaching Israel and Southern Europe. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) have a longer range than the Sajjil.

“There is some uncertainty about when and how this type of [ICBM] threat to the U.S. homeland will mature,” states the report, “but there is no uncertainty about the existence of regional threats. They are clear and present. The threat from short-range, medium-range, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs, MRBMs, and IRBMs) in regions where the United States deploys forces and maintains security relationships is growing at a particularly rapid pace.”

DOD’s recommended priorities for the U.S. include testing new capabilities before deployment, testing under realistic operational conditions, and adapting as threats shift.

DOD contends that the Ground-based Midcourse Defense presently protects the U.S. against ICBM attacks from Iran and North Korea. To maintain this “advantageous position” as the threat grows, DOD says the U.S. will:

“Maintain readiness and continue to develop existing operational capabilities at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

“Complete the second field of 14 silos at Fort Greely to hedge against the possibility that additional deployments become necessary.

“Deploy new sensors in Europe to improve cueing for missiles launched at the United States by Iran or other potential adversaries in the Middle East.

“Invest in further development of the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) for future land-based deployment as the ICBM threat matures.

“Increase investments in sensors and early-intercept kill systems to help defeat missile defense countermeasures.

“Pursue a number of new GMD system enhancements, develop next generation missile defense capabilities, and advance other hedging strategies including continued development and assessment of a two-stage ground-based interceptor.”

Some experts question the report’s conclusions. For example, the Heritage Foundation’s Baker Spring believes the threat to the homeland could well be more imminent, which leaves the U.S. vulnerable to strategic surprises and risks the lives of millions of Americans. Our solutions and strategies should be more immediate rather than future oriented.

 
The United States Navy tested a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) today in Hawaii. The SM-3 launched from the USS Hopper shot down a short-range ballistic missile shot from Barking Sands in Kaua’i.

This was the latest test of the sea based Aegis system which so far has had 18 successful intercepts in 22 attempts.

Watch the video of the Aegis SM-3 test here!

Radio Talk Show Hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity discuss 33 Minutes on their radio programs.

Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on 33 Minutes

Over the weekend Heritage’s Jim Carafano attended a conference on missile defense challenges in the 21st century, which was sponsored by the Claremont Institute. One question was repeatedly asked, “Who would dare fire a ballistic missile at the United States?”

One surprising answer that came up again and again: Iran. Now, we all know that Iran has ballistic missiles and is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, but its missiles do not have the range to reach to the United States. In 1998, however, Iran test-fired a missile off a platform in the Caspian Sea — odd, considering Iranian missiles can reach likely targets in the Middle East from land-based sites. Iran has also held several missile tests, detonating the missiles at the apogee (that’s the highest point) of the missile’s flight path — again odd, given that missile tests are usually designed to see if missiles can fly all the way to their targets.

These strange experiments, however, could mean something, according to the scientists and scholars at the conference. If a missile were hid on an unassuming commercial cargo ship, it could sail near U.S. territory without ever being inspected by anyone. A short-range missile could be fired off a ship, and if Iran detonated a nuclear weapon high over the United States, it would produce an EMP-effect, a blast of electromagnetic waves that would short-circuit almost every electrical component on the ground below from the electric grid that powers the nation to the pumps that deliver water to our homes to electronic circuits that allow you to start car. This kind of attack would turn America into an 18th century barter economy in minutes. Is that what Iranian leaders meant when they said they could envision a world without America? We just don’t know.

With troubling developments like this, it is amazing that Americans are sanguine about the lack of adequate progress in building comprehensive missile defenses. Ironically, polls show again and again that most Americans want to be protected from ballistic missile threats. On the other hand, Congress has little interest in making the issue a priority.

But because lawmakers in Washington know Americans care about the issue, they pretend to take the issue seriously while trying to do as little as possible. Many in Congress would prefer to rely on negotiating or explaining threats away. While the Constitution clearly states “providing for the common defense” is Washington’s first duty, members of Congress think they know better.