Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Pentagon to Prioritize Boeing Missile Defense Program | DoD Buzz

Pentagon to Prioritize Boeing Missile Defense Program | DoD Buzz: The Pentagon plans to prioritize funding for the ground-based missile defense system being developed by Boeing Co., the second highest-ranking U.S. military officer said.

The governments of North Korea and Iran are trying to build intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the U.S., according to Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And while neither country has yet achieved mature ICBM designs, the military must take the threats seriously, he said.

“The number of nations trying to achieve that capability is growing, not shrinking,” he said during a speech on Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. “A robust and capable national missile defense is our best bet to defend the United States from such an attack.”