Heritage Foundation analyst Baker Spring is out with a new memo, analyzing the threat posed by a potential missile launch from North Korea—and the potential response. Spring insists the threat underscores the importance of a comprehensive national missile defense system, and that North Korea should not be allowed to engage in “threatening, unannounced missile launches.” He suggests that a pre-emptive strike could be justified but only if we can determine that Pyongyang topped the missile with a Nuke. Short of that, he would prefer to engage our missile defense system. However, he warns, the current umbrella is not as robust as it could be. He recollects the first Bush Administration’s Global Protection Against Limited Strikes, which he feels had more teeth but which Clinton scuttled. (We ignored the date error in Spring’s article.)
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.