The Dollars and Sense of Trump's Missile Defense

Kim Jong Un has decided to walk back his recent threats to bomb the island of Guam, and for now, the world can breathe a collective sigh of relief. But how many times over the last few weeks have we all gone to bed wondering if tomorrow will be the day Kim Jong Un nukes the United States? And if it isn’t North Korea, then maybe it will be Iran? The world is an increasingly dangerous place, and President Trump’s missile defense budget needs to be passed quickly to provide the funding needed to protect the U.S. from foreign attackers.

In response to the recent threats from the increasingly paranoid and unpredictable N. Korean dictator, President Trump has stated: “We’re going to be increasing our budget by many billions of dollars because of North Korea and other reasons having to do with the anti-missile [defense program].“ Trump had originally requested a 5% decrease in spending on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, but after new information became available that N. Korea has developed small nuclear weapons that can be attached to an Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), he has acknowledged the immediate need to increase our missile defense capabilities. The N. Korean military has stepped up its test launches over the last two years with a number of new missile variants, demonstrating increased skill with their most recent launch traveling over 600 miles with a maximum altitude of 2,300 miles. According to David Wright, physicist and co-director of the UCS Global Security Program, if the same missile were fired on a flatter, standard trajectory it would easily be able to reach U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and could soon even reach as far as New York. The states of Alaska and Hawaii are even closer to N. Korea, and our military has recently proven the effectiveness of our missile defense program to ensure there will never be another Pearl Harbor. However, more money needs to be allocated to the defense budget if the U.S. is to maintain its dominance over the region as other countries weaponry continue to advance technologically. Last May Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) along with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced bipartisan legislation asking for 28 additional Ground-based Interceptors in Alaska and California that would improve the capability and capacity of U.S. homeland missile defense against foreign aggressors.

---

Trump’s current Long-Range Standoff missile budget is asking for $451 million

Trump’s current Long-Range Standoff missile budget is asking for $451 million which is up from last year’s $95 million budget. This nuclear cruise missile is still in development but once completed it will be able to be fired from a fighter jet greatly enhancing the effectiveness of the existing U.S. bomber fleet. The Space-based Infrared System, a satellite system that warns of incoming missile attacks, is also seeking an increase in funding. The White House is looking to add to last year’s $500 million budget to bring it up to $1.4 billion. Even though President Trump has expressed the desire to “de-nuke” the world, until the rest of the countries follow suit he has assured the American people that we will be the most powerful nation on earth. It is the only way to respond to countries like N. Korea that claimed in a letter from the Foreign Affairs Committee of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly “the DPRK's efforts to strengthen nuclear deterrents will gather greater pace, beyond anyone's imagination.” The reality is that we need to spend the money that Trump’s budget is requesting if we want to keep up with technology. Our enemies never stop developing new and better ways to try to kill us, and we need to pass President Trump’s budget to keep the U.S. strong and protected. Perhaps Sen. Sullivan said it best when talking about the need for more Ground-based Interceptors, “I wouldn’t say they’re expensive and I wouldn’t say that they’re cheap...I put it in the context of what is an American city worth?”