The Obama administration’s missile defense priorities in the fiscal year 2014 budget total some $9.2 billion, which includes $7.6 billion for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), while making key changes to support tighter budgets and address emerging threats.
The Defense Department wants to termination of the Precision Tracking Space System (PTSS) program–a reduction of $272 million–and restructure the Standard Missile-3 Block IIB (SM-3 IIB) program.
Cost and risk associated with the PTSS concurrent acquisition strategy and long term fiscal sustainability was too high, budget documents said. DoD is looking toward using ground-based radar systems instead of PTSS to do the same mission at less cost.
The SM-3 IIB program was restructured to focus on common kill vehicle technology for the Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) exo-atmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) and future SM-3 missile variants. “Consolidating these into one technology effort accelerates our ability to address emerging threats and increase the protection of the homeland,” budget documents said.
The reordered priorities fund the development and deployment of BMD capabilities supporting protection of the U.S. homeland, deployed forces, allies and partners.
In mid-March, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a series of changes to the U.S. missile defense posture to reamin vigilant in the face of North Korean provocation.
The FY 2014 GBI program requests $1 Billion in RDT&E to continue development and sustainment of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, including deploying 26 GBIs at Fort Greely, Alaska and four GBI’s at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Boeing [BA] is the prime contractor.
The president’s budget also requests $1.5 billion for 52 SM-3 Block IB missiles, and BMD upgrades for one Aegis ship and installation on four Aegis ships, while continuing development of the Aegis BMD Weapon System 5.0 and 5.1. Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the prime contractor for the Aegis Weapon System. Raytheon [RTN] is the SM-3 interceptor prime contractor.
The FY ’14 budget requests $850 million for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) RDT&E and procurement. The funds will buy one THAAD battery, 36 interceptors and components and other activities. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor.
The Patriot/Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC) 3 missile budget request is for $336.7 million for RDT&E, procurement and spares. The FY ’14 program is to continue improving software to reduce the probability of fratricide and other activities, including continued procurement of 10 Enhanced Launcher Electronics Systems. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the missile upgrade. Raytheon is the overall Patriot System prime contractor.
Also in FY 2014, the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) begins low rate initial production—56 missiles. The MSE missiles are to increase range and altitude.
Additionally, in the president’s budget for 12013, DoD started its plan to increase ballistic missile defense for Europe as part of the Phased Adaptive Approach. It would homeport four BMD ships in Rota, Spain. Two of those ships will report there in FY 2014, followed by two more in 2015. DoD briefing charts said that a shorter distance to station and the “enhanced/shorter maintenance cycle used by overseas home-ported ships, they will markedly increase the BMD presence in Europe.”