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Last week, the Missile Defense Agency and defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced a successful test flight on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System last week at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii.

“Today’s successful low end intercept further proves THAAD’s mission flexibility and capability,” THAAD vice president and program manager Tom McGrath said. “The weapon system’s success is much to the credit of the U.S. Army soldiers’ superior performance in executing this mission and their dedication to 100 percent Mission Success.”

The test was the seventh successful intercept for THAAD. The program has completed 11 flight tests in the past five years, with seven-for-seven intercepts.

 
According to a new report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the administration’s shift from emphasizing strategic ballistic missile interception systems to battlefield missile defense would save money but hamper our ability to protect against missile attacks. (Source)

The Obama administration proposes to cut $1.4 billion from the missile defense budget. The report’s author notes the administration’s proposal to reduce ground-based interceptors from 44 to 30 with no plans to replace or replenish the program. The budget for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system would be reduced by 35 percent, and the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense program would see cuts for the next fiscal year.

The Airborne Laser (ABL) program, which had its first successful in-flight test this week, would see a $214 million decrease if the budget is passed. Perhaps the success of the ABL will prompt the president to commission another ABL aircraft.

The administration proposes to cancel the Multiple Kill Vehicle and Kinetic Energy Interceptor programs.

See the Center’s 50-page report (PDF) for analyses of how these budget cuts affect our national defense.