Do missile defenses really work?
Those who want to constrain missile defense spending until we can prove that systems “work” are implying that they do not now work. This is wrong. Since the December 2002 decision to pursue missile defense, the U.S. military has had a 97 percent testing success record.[10] Of its 38 complete tests of current ground-based, sea-based, and air-based defensive systems, only one resulted in a “miss.” In 2008, we tested the system in a real-world scenario: We destroyed a malfunctioning satellite in space before it could come crashing down to earth. Missile defense not only works, but works well. Our “hit-to-kill” systems using non-explosive interceptors can hit a missile within inches of where they are aimed. According to General “Trey” Obering, “we’ve gotten beyond being able to hit a bullet with a bullet. We are now able to hit a spot on a bullet with a bullet.”[11] Regrettably, the Missile Defense Agency under President Obama is beginning to slow all the progress we’ve made in developing
