Missile Defense: Failing Targets, Botched Tests and Exploding Costs

On the radar: Failure on the receiving end of missile defense; Senator fed up with nuclear costs; Overstating capabilities; and Globetrotting with the Worm.

May 31, 2013 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Alyssa Demus

Target trouble - “For years, the public’s focus on the nation’s nearly $10 billion-a-year missile defense program has been on whether American interceptors can hit incoming ballistic missiles and protect the country and its allies...Less attention has been paid to the targets used in U.S. missile defense testing, which have failed or malfunctioned at an alarming rate,” reports Richard Sia of The Center for Public Integrity.

--In the last five years, target problems plagued two of three intercept tests for ground-based interceptors and two of the last seven tests for the Army’s THAAD system. Such failures undercut missile defense experiments and drive up the costs - with each intercept test priced in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

--Years of mismanagement over contracts buying new target missiles resulted in the Pentagon relying on old or untested missile parts, which compromised the results of recent missile defense trials. Sia combs through test records, GAO reports and budget figures to show a more complete picture of waste and failure in missile defense programs. Full story here. http://atfp.co/ZiO5Ou

The problems of supporting the unaffordable - “I've pretty well had it with these big Energy Department projects that start out costing a billion dollars and end up costing $6 billion. We can't afford that. And we can use the money much more wisely, either to reduce the debt or to pay for energy research,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in response to a question about the exploding costs of the Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, TN.

--”As long as you're going to have a nuclear weapons defense system, you have to have a uranium facility to process what we use in our weapons. We have to have that,” said Sen. Alexander. “But we don't have to spend an extra billion dollars on it when we have a big debt and we could use the money better for energy research or for education scholarships or for other needs." Frank Munger at The Knoxville News Sentinel has the quote. http://bit.ly/12lVKzr

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Tweet - @RANDCorporation: Iran's nuclear goals put it on a collision course with the US, but it's not an irrational state, says @AlirezaNader trib.al/SSYLaRJ

Exaggerated - Air Force briefing materials from earlier this month allege that both North Korea and China are developing new nuclear-capable cruise missiles. Experts say, however, the materials overstate the threat.

--”Every missile is nuclear capable, depending on the available warhead.” Experts question whether North Korea has any “capacity to create a nuclear device capable of fitting onto a ballistic missile [and note that] making one small enough for a cruise missile would pose ‘even more’ of a technical challenge.” The Air Force presentation also “glosses over” U.S. modernization efforts like updates to the B61 bomb, and new SSBNs say experts. Diane Barnes at Global Security Newswire has the full story. http://owl.li/lA7y2

PONI up - CSIS’ Project on Nuclear Issues is now accepting proposals for presentations at its 2013 Summer Conference. Details here. http://owl.li/lAbPy

Tweet - @BloombergNews: White House lifts trade sanctions that bar sales of laptops, cell phones to ordinary Iranians. bloom.bg/115px7Y

Speed reads -

--”U.S. loosens sanctions on Iran for mobile phones, gadgets” by Anna Yukhananov for Reuters. http://reut.rs/12TAsE9

--“Canada bans nearly all Iranian imports, expands blacklist” by the AP. http://wapo.st/10EkDDx

--”Two-Decade-Old Pledge Complicates South Korean Nuclear Goals” by Elaine Grossman at The National Journal. http://owl.li/lAcvH

Events:

--”Ballistic Missile Defense- Technical, Strategic and Arms Control Challenges.” Discussion with Phil Coyle, George Lewis, Bruce MacDonald, Pierce Corden, and Charles Ferguson to moderate. June 6th from 4:45-7:00pm at AAAS, reception to follow. Details here. http://bit.ly/188gZ90

--House Armed Services Committee, markup of the defense authorization bill, H.R. 1960, which includes the nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation programs of NNSA. June 5, 10:00 am. Webcast here. http://owl.li/lsGRO

--Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, hearing on the Missile Defense Agency budget, with Vice Adm. James Syring, Director, Missile Defense Agency. June 5, 10:00 am. Webcast here. http://owl.li/lsHgp

--"Missiles in South Asia: Deterrence Stability on the Subcontinent.” Rob Williams and Dinshaw Mistry. June 5 12:30-2:30 pm @ Stimson Center. Details here. http://owl.li/lsHBz

Dessert:

Ultimate potemkin village - A new HBO documentary will give viewers a front row seat for Dennis Rodman’s North Korean excursion, replete with surreal settings, a North Korea-Harlem Globetrotter basketball game and a cameo of the supreme leader himself.

--The HBO show, airing June 14, allows viewers to explore the “ bizarro world where citizens weep at the sight of leader Kim Jong-un, lavish him with chants of ‘live 10,000 years,’ and enjoy dolphin shows said to be choreographed by him.” Sadly, viewers will not get to relive one of the Worm and Lil’ Kim’s finer bonding moments - Rodman “singing ‘My Way’ at a surprise dinner party hosted by Kim after the basketball game.” John Jurgensen at The Wall Street Journal has the full story. http://owl.li/lAfTc