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The only reason that the multinational Medium-Extended Air Defense System (Meads) program may be able to survive despite a lack of support from the U.S. Army is mainly due to the Pentagon's desire to publicly display support for international programs. The main reason for the Army's decision to scrap the Meads program is its escalating costs.

Several questions are being raises regarding the testing conditions as well as quality control of the components of the system following a failed U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) flight trial. The two issues that led to the failure of the flight test are highlighted.

The aerospace community has achieved a milestone with the successful shooting down of a boosting foreign-built ballistic missile by the Airborne Laser (ABL). However, the future of the ABL program continues to hang in balance.

The UK and the US are exploring British ambitions to provide greater technical input into the nonnuclear payload and systems of any Trident-based successor to the country's nuclear deterrent, which continues to be based on a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The UK is studying more involvement with the US that might cover passive and active countermeasures payloads, including penetration aids and greater access to guidance technology, but the government is yet to make a final decision on a Trident replacement.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is examining options to procure targets for its flight tests following problems with the existing high cost systems. The Agency is also reviewing possible methods to counteract threats from regional and theater missiles which was part of the Fiscal 2010 budget request.

The article reports on the success of a U.S. Ground-Based Interceptor's kill mechanism which collided with a ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean earlier in June 2014. Topics discussed include the U.S.' intercept test program for homeland defense, the need for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to make up for lost time, and the 99.5 million U.S. dollars needed in the fiscal 2015 budget to work on an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle redesign.

The article discusses the U.S. Department of Defense's shift in military focus to the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions, arguing that the change in military strategy could lead to the development of cruise-missile defenses, surveillance aircraft, and stealth bombers. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta examined the need for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, unmanned aircraft, and space surveillance. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is also examined.

The article reports on the focus of the U.S. Department of Defense on the quick fielding of a land-based SM-3 system designed to protect Europe from the threat of a ballistic missile from Iran. This focus has set aside U.S. plans for establishing a fixed Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) missile interceptor site in Poland. The article also cites some setbacks the plan for establishing two ground-based interceptors (GBI) in Poland has faced.

The article focuses on the possible use of fielded unmanned aerial system (UAS) sensors and the development of a lighter kill vehicle by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency in line with its goal of having the ability to intercept ballistic missiles early in flight. U.S. Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, the MDA director, comments on the potential of the U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper UAS. MDA is in the process of investigating ways to squeeze more velocity out of the Raytheon SM-3 interceptor.

The article focuses on the challenge posed by the U.S. Defense Department to the defense industry to develop technologies that can link existing systems through an adaptable command-and-control network. A total of $56 million has been spent by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) developing and fielding a ballistic missile defense system. Northrop Grumman introduces its Kinetic-Energy Interceptor (KEI) as the cheaper, more flexible missile defense system being sought by the Pentagon. Meanwhile, Boeing touts its Airborne Laser (ABL).

The article reports that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), after stabilizing testing of interceptors designed to counter ballistic threats in the midcourse phase of flight, is now looking to bolster defenses against threats as they boost into space. Another MDA goal is to improve its ability to foil re-entry vehicles in the terminal phase of flight.

The article reports that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency plans to carry out the first test of its Kinetic-Energy Interceptor (KEI) in summer 2009. The new booster is designed with the mobility, through land-mobile and sea basing, needed by the agency as it builds a layered defense against ballistic missiles. The high-speed KEI, featuring a booster that provides two separate 30-second burns, is designed to carry a kill vehicle to intercept ballistic missiles with more kinetic energy than current interceptors.

The article reports that Boeing Co. is developing an elaborate relay mirror prototype to extend the range of laser weapons against ground targets— like mobile missue erectors— or against incoming ballistic missiles. The relay mirrors would be placed on airships or high-flying unmanned aerial vehicles or launched into space. Those systems would be located well above the atmosphere where civil air traffic travels and more particles are likely to fracture the integrity of a laser beam.

The article reports developments in the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system project of the U.S. as of mid-February 2014. According to Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance chairman Riki Ellison, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel intends to add over 4.5 billion dollars to the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) budget, much of the money for GMD, in 2015-2019. The opinion of MDA spokesperson Rick Lehner on the developments is also cited.

The article discusses the U.S. missile defense market, examining the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) decision to keep Boeing as prime contractor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) missile shield. Boeing and Northrop Grumman won the contract over Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The sale of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the fixed-price and cost-plus elements of the GMD contract are examined.

The article discusses the development of missile shield capabilities for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by European countries and aerospace companies. The introduction of Thales Smart-L radar systems to Dutch frigates, a proposed ballistic missile defense (BMD) system by the aerospace company Astrium, and tests of the German Patriot terminal defense battery are examined. The aerospace company Raytheon's Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is discussed.

The article reports that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has delayed testing of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) campaign, a program managed by the aerospace company Boeing, due to problems with the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV). The MDA is also conducting tests of the Raytheon SM-3 IB interceptor and the Lockheed Martin Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system.

The article discusses the development of ballistic missile defenses (BMD) by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The alliance could use Raytheon SM-3 interceptors, developed in the U.S., on European ships, but aerospace companies in Europe have encourage the development of European systems. Friedrich Ploeger of NATO discusses the Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD), the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system, and the SM-3.

The article reports on the space budget of the U.S. Department of Defense under the administration of President Barack Obama's proposed 2011 spending plan. Included in the budget are some changes to major missile defense and space programs that emphasize a focus on space situational awareness and ballistic missile tracking capabilities. On the other hand, the Air force is allotting funding for a follow-on Space-Based Space Surveillance procurement.

The article presents an outlook for the missile defense industry in relation to the increasing proliferation of threats around the world. Among the area defense and regional protection systems that dominate the market are the Patriot/PAC-3, multi-national Medium Extended Air Defense System and the Aegis/SM-3 defensive system. The decision of the U.S. Department of Defense to shift its strategy to protect Europe from an Iranian missile attack is cited as an indicator of the direction for the industry.

The article reports on the preparations being made by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for flight trial of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. Also planned is the trial of the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) and a test flight of its Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV). The tests, to be conducted in September 2009, will feature a target missile launched from Meck Island in the Kwajalein Atoll with a three-stage interceptor boosting from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The article reports on a newly upgraded ground-based missile defense and space surveillance radar at Thule Air Base (AB) in Greenland which has begun operating while in a trial period. The so-called an Upgraded Early Warning Radar has the capability to monitor the skies over the North Pole for ballistic missiles and performs space surveillance on a daily basis. It is noted that the radar is part of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's growing missile detection and tracking system.

The article reports on the plans of U.S. defense officials to test and produce the new Block IB variant of the SM-3 interceptor. The decision came as the U.S. Missile Defense Agency prepares for a flight test of the Aegis and SM-3 ballistic missile defense system in July 2009. Further, the officials also expressed plans to explore how to effectively integrate the interceptor into the agency's target detection and tracking radars.

This article discusses the potential of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to field ascent-phase missile defenses. It attributes the potential to tweaks to the Standard Missile-3 and Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense interceptors, as well as air-launched weapons in the U.S. arsenal. However, it warns that the project is facing some challenges due to the U.S. economic slowdown and political change. The position of Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the project is also noted.

The article reports that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Israel are examining alternatives to extend Israel's defenses with an upper-tier system to counter emerging ballistic missile threats, including the advanced Shahab-3 being developed by Iran. John Rood, acting under secretary of State for arms control and international security, says that the upper-tier program is one effort amid a substantial increase in U.S. cooperation with Israel.

The article reports that Boeing executives announced that a planned U.S. ballistic missile intercept test under the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program may be pushed to later in 2008. Boeing has also locked in a sole-source extension of its GMD development through Fiscal 2013, including the integration of European interceptors and a new radar considered controversial on Capitol Hill and in Europe.

The article reports that the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) used by the U.S. in shooting down a classified U.S. intelligence satellite will not be used as an antisatellite missile but is designed to counter longer-range ballistic missile threats. Following a contract announcement last December 2007, negotiations are proceeding between the U.S. and Japan over workshare on a multibillion-dollar effort to upgrade the missile that was used February 20, 2008 to intercept a wayward satellite prior to deorbiting.

The article reports that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is stepping up the sophistication of flight testing for its burgeoning layered ballistic missile defense system. The first of these flight tests to include countermeasures since 2002 is expected to take place in spring 2008. MDA has incorporated such objects in eight GMD tests since the first in 1999, five resulted in intercepts.

The article focuses on the efforts of U.S. military officials in making U.S. missile defense system operational. Army Lieutenant General William Webster says North Korea has already begun to take steps to mask launch operations, attempting to decrease the likelihood the U.S. intelligence community will have notice of impending tests. U.S. commanders got their first exposure to operating the missile shield when they executed 40 days of continuous-alert posture in response to intelligence leading up to the North Korean ballistic missile tests.

This article reports that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) established by the Department of Defense is beginning to outline its plans for a multi-billion-dollar space-based midcourse missile-tracking constellation, now that its first two demonstrator payloads are near completion. Christopher Pelc, MDA's Space Tracking and Surveillance Sensor (STSS) program director, says that the two-satellite demonstration program is on schedule for a 2007 launch. Both demonstration satellites will be launched atop a single Delta II rocket into low Earth orbit, and they will be used during tests of the ballistic missile defense system now under development. STSS emerged from the ashes of the earlier Space-Based Infrared System Low, which was managed until 2000 by the Air Force. Pelc says that he emphasized sound systems engineering with prime contractor Northrop Grumman when MDA reshaped the program.

This article reports that the Pentagon will start a new round of flight tests this fall to demonstrate the effectiveness of a revamped mobile system designed to destroy short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The pressure for success is high for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) after more than a decade of design problems with the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system. The upcoming flight tests are timed to maintain initial deployment in 2009, despite congressional cuts and other program setbacks, according to U.S. Army Charles Driessnack, MDA's Thaad project manager. The Congress sliced $60 million from the program in Fiscal 2004, prompting Driessnack to restructure some elements, including ground tests. Five flight tests are scheduled for fiscal 2006, which begins this month. Three will test the missile's flight only. Another will focus on its seeker, and the final trail will be an intercept test. They will take place at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

This article reports that Great Britain is confronted by a choice of moving to sign up for an improved version of the U.S. Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile or pursuing a potentially genuinely independent nuclear delivery system. The government is using an investment decision on whether to pursue the improved version of the Trident II D5, the D5A, as an opportunity to evaluate the British nuclear posture and the nature of its strategic weaponry. The Defense Ministry and several defense companies have begun to consider the options for Great Britain's next-generation of nuclear systems.

The article reports that by embarking on a deliberate and some say cautious development approach, officials working on the sea-based missile defense system, Aegis, appear intent on proving that the high-profile failures of the land-based interceptor systems aren't the norm for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The Aegis system is one of two efforts in the MDA's midcourse defense program, which is geared to hit missiles in the are of their flight, after boost and before turning downward for the terminal phase of flight.

The article reports that the for the next three years are critical Airborne Laser (ABL) program, as prime contractor Boeing Co. prepares to install the multimegawatt-class laser components onto a modified 747-400 freighter and flight test the boostphase missile defense technology. The system includes a 747-mounted, multimegawatt, high-energy chemical oxygen iodine laser, sophisticated beamcontrol components and a battle management system for onboard operators. Chemical tanks for the components of the laser are on board.

The article reports that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is feverishly developing an array of technologies to intercept missiles headed for the U.S., although the U.S. government appears to have backed off of its grandiose plans to quickly pronounce the high-profile, ground-based, U.S. missile defense shield operational. Meanwhile, MDA has been able to point to progressive successes with the Aegis midcourse defense system, which will be an arrangement of sophisticated ship-based radars coupled with the SM-3 missile interceptors. Five of six tests have resulted in missile kills. Five out of 10 attempts have been successful with its ground-based counterpart.

The article offers brief information on the infrared (IR) missile warning satellite system from the U.S. Air Force. It mentions that the U.S. employs the sensors that detect a ballistic missile launch from North Korea, Iran and Russia. It offers information on the Sbirs geosynchronous (GEO) satellites in orbit.

The article discusses the plan of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for the Long-Range Strike Bomber. Topics discussed include application of stealth technologies, a report of the U.S. Government Accountability Office for the U.S. nuclear containment & modification plan and views of the U.S. Strategic Command chief Admiral Cecil Haney at the 2015 Space and Missile Defense Conference in Huntsville, Alabama regarding nuclear-capable version operational around 2030.

The article mentions that the aviation firm Lockheed Martin is expecting maturing threat of glide vehicles and plans a capable interceptor for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) air defense system. Topics disucssed include systems for the protection of ballistic missile threats; views of James Syring from Missile Defense Agency, on Russia's hypersonic systems; development of offensive hypersonic systems; and views of Doug Graham, from Lockheed, on the emerging threats.

The article reports on the plan of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency as of December 2014 to acquire a new Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle for its Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) system. Topics include the intense scrutiny faced by the GDM in 2014 until it successful intercept of a long-range target in July, the release of the procurement strategy in the fiscal 2016 defense budget, and the finalization of details on a renegotiated sustainment contract with Boeing for the GMD system.

The article discusses the planned delivery of the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense radar system from aerospace company Lockheed Martin to Romania in 2015. Topics include the systems aim to provide protection for European North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin's opposition to U.S. missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, and testing of the Aegis system.

The article discusses the disappointing test results of the U.S. Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) system in 2013. Topics addressed include complications with the Raytheon Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's plan to test GMD more regularly, and options for vehicles that could replace the EKV. Also mentioned are the features of the Russian Almaz Antey S-350E air defense system and the Lockheed Martin Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system.

The article reports on the successful flight test of the Medium-Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) in November 2013 and its possible competition with Raytheon's PAC-3 missile and air-defense system.

The article reports on the contemplation by the U.S. Navy on whether to conduct a competition for a new anti-ship missile, in response to the latest sophisticated Chinese DF-21 ship-killing ballistic missile. However, various messages from the service regarding the threat have prompted lawmakers to question the urgency and the amount needed within what timeframe. It is noted that despite the consensus on the threat, there is confusion regarding the timing.

The article focuses on the integration of missile defense sensors in the military system of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). It states that the integration of new system aims to improve the maturity and efficiency of defense, fire control enhancement, and cost effectiveness. Also mentioned are the massive terrestrial radar for space surveillance, missile detection, and the command and control systems.

The article discusses American Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) demonstration satellites and the impact of the U.S. Department of Defense's (Pentagon's) decision to terminate its Precision Tracking Space System (PTSS) satellite program. The Pentagon's 2014 budget is addressed, along with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's reported pursuit of a simpler satellite through the PTSS program and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. An anticipated mobile missile launch by the North Korean government is assessed, along with the U.S. Air Force's defunct Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs).

The article examines U.S. military policy related to ballistic missile defense. The announcement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that the U.S. will add 14 Ground Based Interceptors (GBI) to its defense systems based in Alaska and California is considered in relationship to the defense industries firm Boeing Co. which manufactures the GBI.