U.S Department of Defense

At yesterday’s virtual conference sponsored by the Missile Defense Advocacy Association, the idea that the return of great power competition has shifted the missions of missile defense was the unifying theme.

China and Russia are investing heavily in building new missile capabilities in everything from hypersonics to cruise missiles to various ranges of ballistic missiles. But other nations — most notably Iran and North Korea — remain threats, too, and missile defense capabilities from afloat, on the ground or in space must cover that total range, the conferees said.

In the 1980s, critics derided missile defense as a “Star Wars” fiction. That fiction, if it ever was, is now more of a reality than ever.

“[Missile defense] is about just protecting this country,” said Navy Vice Adm. Jon Hill, the director of the Missile Defense Agency. “It is about layered defense … to protect the country or deployed forces and our allies.”

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