Sea-Based Ballistic Missile Defense Background and Issues for Congress

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. The proposed FY 2010 defense budget requests $1,859.5 million for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) program. The issue for Congress discussed in this report is: What should be the role of sea-based systems in U.S. ballistic missile defense, and are DoD¿s programs for sea-based BMD capabilities appropriately structured and funded? Potential issues for Congress re: sea-based BMD systems include the number of SM-3 interceptors planned for procurement, whether development of a far-term sea-based terminal defense BMD capability should be accelerated, technical risk in the Aegis BMD program, the number of Aegis BMD ships, and the role of Aegis BMD in European missile defense. Illustrations.