
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is plagued by shrinking budgets and growing responsibilities that are increasingly hurting its ability to conduct the research and development needed to modernize the nation’s missile defenses, according to a report released July 29 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).The agency’s budget, which peaked at $9.4 billion in fiscal year 2007, has fallen by over 20 percent since then and is expected to stay at the reduced level through the future…