AirForce Times:
The Missile Defense Agency is facing a budget shortfall that could jeopardize research into next generation technology, a retired Air Force general said Friday.
The Defense Department agency is responsible for keeping Americans and allied nations safe from missile attacks — both nuclear and conventional — but a constrained fiscal environment is making it difficult to research ways to defend against threats from China and Russia, said Lt. Gen. Trey Obering (ret.) at a conference held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
“Why is this budget squeeze at [research and development] a problem, frankly? One thing we have to realize is what we’re talking about is not today; we’re talking about the future,” said Obering, who served as director of the MDA from 2004 to 2008 and deputy director from 2003 to 2004.
“Even if we’re only talking about North Korea and Iran, we have to invest in this R&D to keep up with that ‘limited’ threat, because those threats are evolving and they’re becoming more mature,” Obering continued. “And then, of course, if we’re talking about a very aggressive China or a more belligerent Russia, we’ve got a long way to go to address that as well.”
The Pentagon needs to invest in technologies like space-based targeting and tracking systems and directed energy weapons that could quickly shoot down any missile launched by an adversary. The breakthroughs in technology are especially needed since the missiles themselves are becoming better and faster, Obering said.
“We have to be able to overcome things like advance countermeasures, maneuvering warheads, hypersonic vehicles and much more,” he said.
