By Dave Ahearn
President Bush would provide $9.3 billion for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, under the budget plan that Bush yesterday sent to Congress for its review and approval.
That would include $6.9 billion for development and testing of new and existing missile defense platforms, $1.7 billion for fielding of existing capabilities including the sea- based Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) system, and $700 million for sustainment of assets already fielded.
Bush seeks $1.158 billion for the Aegis sea-based ballistic missile defense system in fiscal 2009, up from the $1.126 billion appropriated for the current fiscal 2008.
Aegis involves a Lockheed Martin [LMT] target acquisition and weapons control and guidance system, and a Raytheon [RTN] Standard Missile interceptor that actually kills the incoming enemy ballistic missile. This ballistic missile defense (BMD) system has achieved repeated successes in tests against various target missiles conducted near Hawaii.
For the Airborne Laser (ABL) BMD system, Bush seeks only about $405.8 million, down from the comparable figure of $474.8 million in the current fiscal 2008. Last year, the Airborne Laser program had a near-death experience, when a House authorizing subcommittee voted to slash Bush’s $549 million fiscal 2008 request down to $149 million. But by the time the dust settled, the full Congress appropriated actual spending for the Airborne Laser program totaling $510 million in the current year. Figured a different way.
The Airborne Laser moves U.S. armed forces into the future by using a directed energy beam to kill the enemy ballistic missile in its most vulnerable phase, just after it lifts off from the launch pad or silo, before the enemy weapon has time to spew forth confusing chaff, multiple warheads or decoys.
The system is mounted on a giant, heavily-modified 747 aircraft supplied Boeing [BA], using a high-powered chemical oxygen iodine laser, or COIL, by Northrop Grumman [NOC] to generate a beam that is directed at the enemy missile by a Lockheed Martin beam control/fire control system in the nose of the plane.
Thus far, the ABL program is on schedule, and has met its development milestones, on course to face its ultimate test next year, when it is to shoot down a ballistic missile in flight next year.
Once deployed, the ABL would provide by far the cheapest way to provide a defense against enemy ballistic missiles, because it costs far less to shoot a laser beam than to fire an interceptor missile to counter the enemy threat, according to David Altwegg, who delivered the MDA budget briefing to journalists at the Pentagon.
In future years, the MDA budget request seeks $384.6 million for ABL in capability development funds in fiscal 2010, $609.5 million in fiscal 2011, $752.1 million in fiscal 2012, and $937.8 million in fiscal 2013, for a total in fiscal 2008 through 2013 of $3.565 billion.
For the Northrop Grumman Kinetic Energy Interceptor, the $326.6 million of capability development funds in fiscal 2008 would rise to $375.7 million in fiscal 2009, $478.6 million in fiscal 2010, $666 million in fiscal 2011, $769.2 million in fiscal 2012, and $514.1 million in fiscal 2013, for a total of $3.13 billion in fiscal 2008 through 2013.
For the Aegis program, the MDA budget lists appropriations of $1.126 billion for the current fiscal 2008, $1.158 billion for fiscal 2009, $1.234 billion for fiscal 2010, $1.079 billion for fiscal 2011, $1.067 billion for fiscal 2012, and $1.103 billion for fiscal 2013, for a total of $6.766 billion for fiscal 2008 through 2013.
For the European Interceptor site, the MDA budget lists a request of a $132.6 million appropriation in fiscal 2009, and $528.8 million in fiscal 2010. The document also calls for $108.6 million for the European mid-course radar in fiscal 2009, and $67.5 million in fiscal 2010.
The Bush administration is urging the Czech Republic to agree to host a radar site for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense site in Europe, and also is asking Poland to host a site for silos containing interceptor missiles. No final agreement has yet been reached, though progress has been reported in talks. At this point, Congress has stated that funds for the European project can’t be used for construction there until the Czechs and Poles agree to host the system. But the funds can be used for development, including production of silos that–should the Europeans not agree to host the GMD system–could be as easily installed in, say, Alaska, according to Altwegg.