MIssile Defense gets a boost from Trump Administration, And Options for Space Based Laser Weapons are Included.

Trump administration moves to boost homeland missile defense system despite multiple flaws

Citing North Korea's growing nuclear and ballistic missile threat, the Trump administration is moving to vastly expand the problem-plagued homeland missile defense system despite warnings that the planned upgrades may not succeed. Immediate plans call for building two $1-billion radar installations and adding 20 rocket interceptors to the 44 already deployed in underground silos at Ft.

From article, (Citing North Korea’s growing nuclear and ballistic missile threat, the Trump administration is moving to vastly expand the problem-plagued homeland missile defense system despite warnings that the planned upgrades may not succeed.

Immediate plans call for building two $1-billion radar installations and adding 20 rocket interceptors to the 44 already deployed in underground silos at Ft. Greely in Alaska and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Pentagon also is taking steps to launch new satellites to help each interceptor’s “kill vehicle” find, crash into and destroy incoming ballistic missiles high above the atmosphere.

The expected cost is about $10.2 billion over five years, on top of more than $40 billion already spent for the system. On Thursday, Congress passed a short-term government funding bill that includes $200 million to start preparing construction of additional missile silos in Alaska.

Even more ambitious missile defense projects may be on the way.

On Dec. 12, Trump signed a defense authorization bill that requires the missile agency to develop plans to ultimately deploy 104 interceptors — perhaps by building new missile silos in the Midwest or on the East Coast. The agency also is preparing options to deploy space-based laser weapons for missile defense.

The interceptors form the core of the existing Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD. It is designed to track and destroy a limited number of incoming missiles from North Korea, Iran or another non-superpower adversary, not the kind of cataclysmic nuclear exchange envisioned in the Cold War.)

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