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Missile Defense Budget Increased Before it Was Cut By David Ruppe WASHINGTON — While the U.S. Missile Defense Agency appeared to be facing a $5 billion funding cut over the next six fiscal years, a budget boost quietly instituted by the Defense Department has effectively given the program a net $2.6 billion increase for the period (see GSN, April 7). Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz announced the cut last December as part of an overall Pentagon cost-savings effort. The move drew praise from department budget critics and concern from missile defense proponents (see GSN, Jan. 5). Wolfowitz’s “Program Budget Decision No. 753” ordered the cut to begin with a $1 billion reduction in the agency’s fiscal 2006 budget, and $800 million annually from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2011. At a hearing this month of the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Chairman Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said he was concerned that the budget cut could force the agency to detrimentally slow development of some technology. “Slowing down too much or reducing programs too much, we end up costing more than we need,” Sessions said. “It’s sometimes better to continue the program and find the money in some other fashion.” What is not widely known, however, was that Defense Department leaders last year also decided to modify missile defense plans and give the agency a budget raise of $7.7 billion dollars, producing a projected net increase of about $2.6 billion through fiscal 2011. “Since the top line in the FY06-FY11 budget for MDA had increased by about $8 billion, even with a subsequent $5.1 billion cut the resulting top line for MDA is larger than shown in the president’s FY05 budget request,” said agency spokesman Richard Lehner in an e-mail. Priorities ReassessedThe budget increase was made to buy new missile defense hardware for long- and medium-range ballistic missile defense systems the agency is simultaneously deploying and developing. The increase for that purpose, coupled with the cuts, prompted agency officials to shift the focus of the missile defense program, partly by delaying or cutting work that had been planned in coming years for some programs and by spending more on fielding more mature technology. For instance, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, a program to develop a new, faster interceptor for fielding around 2011, saw a reduction of $5 billion from fiscal 2006 through fiscal 2009, according to testimony on the budget by MDA Director Lt. Gen. Henry Obering at the hearing this month. Program goals were delayed a year and activities were narrowed primarily to demonstrate the system’s potential capability. Other cost-saving strategies included delaying by one year plans to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Europe, and reducing the number of long-range interceptor boosters under development from two to one. Meanwhile, fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2009 funding for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptor system increased by $3 billion over what was predicted last year, attributed in part to newly scheduled production of additional interceptor missiles and radar upgrades, according to an agency budget document. In addition, funding for X-band radar development and production increased by $1 billion over that period, according to the document. A theater missile defense system is set to receive an additional $560 million. Hundreds of millions of dollars were added for early research on multiple, miniature kill vehicles. Aegis ship ballistic missile defense funding increased by $551 million during the four years, including for buying 43 additional medium-range interceptors. As implementation of the budget increase would lag behind Wolfowitz’s cuts by two years, the agency budget is projected to drop next fiscal year to $7.8 billion from $8.7 billion projected last year. It will climb after that, however, to more than $10 billion annually by fiscal 2009, according to this year’s budget projections.
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