
The Department of Defense has asked Congress to approve shifting $416 million in previously approved funds to beef up missile defenses and other anti-missile efforts, a DoD official said Sept. 28.The reprogramming request would buy 20 more ground-based interceptor (GBI) missiles to counter long-range ballistic missiles, said Rob Soofer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy.The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, whose prime contractor is Boeing [BA], already is slated to reach 44 fielded GBI's, mostly…