The United States is on the “wrong side” of the ballistic missile defense “cost curve,” US Northern Command boss Adm. William Gortney told reporters during a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday. “We’re shooting down not very expensive rockets with very expensive rockets,” said Gortney. “We need to start knocking them down during the boost phase and not just relying on the mid-course phase where we are today.” Even so, the US is still “outpacing the threat.” However, sequestration likely would reverse that trend. Each of the military services has? been raiding readiness accounts to make up for Budget Control Act funding cuts, but the Missile Defense Agency “doesn’t have a readiness account large enough to cover sequestration costs,” said Gortney. That means much-needed technological advantages will be delayed, which “will prevent us from outpacing that threat,” he added.
U.S. Northern Command plans to sign an agreement with its European and Pacific counterparts to enhance coordination and close security seams in the Arctic, a strategically vital region that spans all three commands. The agreement comes at an important moment in NORTHCOM's evolution, as its mission grows more complex.
