It’s big casino time for the missile defense program, which over the next year will stage four key tests of the pivotal Ground-based Mid-Course Missile Defense system. Two previous tests failed, mostly because of technical glitches. Missile interceptors are already in the ground in Alaska and California and ready to test. A Missile Defense Agency insider told the Huntsville (Ala.) Times that it’s time to “wring out the systems.”
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.