Why the Biden administration must not trade away homeland missile defense
By: John Hulsman 1 day ago
Historically, modern presidential transitions have been rocky, to say the least. That is why many of us in the defense community breathed a sigh of relief at the Biden administration’s embrace of the Next Generation Interceptor missile defense program, even though its genesis occurred under the Trump administration.
The current ground-based missile defense system has languished over the past few years, which saw a plan to upgrade already existing interceptors canceled in 2019 amid technical difficulties. Instead of continuing to limp along, the Department of Defense decided to opt for a bolder, more long-lasting solution to the nation’s missile defense needs. The Missile Defense Agency selected two contracting teams to compete to develop a Next Generation Interceptor, or NGI, to be installed no later than 2028.
Congress strongly supported the MDA’s request last year, and in late May the Biden administration followed suit, allocating $926.1 million for NGI in the fiscal 2022 budget. Disdaining the all-too-human impulse to throw out the baby with the bathwater, the Biden administration has rightly adopted an essential defense initiative, even though it emanated in the Trump era.
https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/06/14/why-the-biden-administration-must-not-trade-away-homeland-missile-defense/
