A new report released by the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis recommends expanding the missile defense structure by reorganizing programs, increasing Presidential and Congressional involvement, and developing more public recognition to make it an urgent national priority. The 200-plus-page report, which is the work of the Independent Working Group on Post-ABM Treaty Missile Defense and the Space Relationship formed in 2002, gives a thorough assessment of missile defense requirements and makes recommendations for using all available technology to ensure US primacy in space. One of its bigger findings is the need to deploy space-based defense systems within three years to augment ground-based interceptors. The IWG also recommends that DOD science and technology funding “should constitute at least 3 percent of total defense spending.”
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
