The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) spends one third of one percent of the DoW budget on missile defense of the homeland.
One third of one percent.
Approx ten billion dollars.
On defense.
The grunt math of defending against incoming munitions will always require more missiles sent aloft against single incoming munitions.
The Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) has less than fifty interceptors in Alaska and the west coast and maintains no layered missile defense of the homeland.
The salvo competition is relentless and ruthless.
A gentle reminder: ICBMs and IRBMs have been hypersonic on atmospheric return since the 1950s. The US has not only spent tens of billions on failed offensive hypersonics (Dark Eagle, ARRW and HALO) but has no capability whatsoever to target terminally maneuvering inbound hypersonics.
Dark Eagle:
The Failures: An October 2021 test in Alaska failed when the rocket booster broke apart shortly after launch. Other tests were cancelled or delayed due to pre-flight check problems.
Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW):
The Failures: The missile suffered repeated test failures in 2021, 2022, and 2023. A March 2023 test failed to gather the needed data, and flights in August and October 2023 also stumbled.
Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive (HALO):
The Failures: High costs and technical design limits caused major friction.
Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS):
The Failures: A July 2022 flight test in Hawaii failed after ignition because of an unexpected anomaly. An earlier test in October failed to leave the launch pad.
Do something.
