National Defense Magazine:
The Missile Defense Agency in its long-time quest to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles scored a success May 30 when the ground-based mid-course defense system’s kill vehicle directly collided with its intended target.
As the first major demonstration of the system in more than three years, and the first to be declared a success since 2008, experts interviewed now say the agency appears on course to meet its acquisition targets for interceptors and ground infrastructure.
In the long term, this may also mean additional budget increases for interceptors, sensors and ground facilities, they added.
This includes a budget request to expand the current ground-based interceptor fleet from 32 to 44 by the end of 2017. The Trump administration has also requested $7.9 billion for missile defense in fiscal year 2018, slightly higher than the agency’s $7.5 billion request.
