The Pentagon is canceling a project to improve its ground-based missile interceptors, most of which are housed at Fort Greely in the Interior of Alaska.
The Associated Press reports the Defense Department is canceling its contract with Boeing to design a better “kill vehicle.” Boeing has been on pause since May while the Pentagon reviewed the program.
Fort Greely has 40 interceptors, and Congress has funded 20 more for the base. It’s unclear if those will be delivered, or what will arrive in their place.
The interceptors are intended to knock out incoming enemy missiles in midcourse. The system has been likened to hitting a bullet with a bullet. Critics have complained the system is too expensive and has performed poorly in tests.
While the Pentagon is abandoning its efforts to improve the kill vehicle, it’s interested in starting over. It says it will pursue a “next-generation interceptor.”
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who sits on the Armed Services Committee and has been a big champion of the missile defense system, was in Unalaska today and could not be reached. His office issued a statement saying he’s concerned and intends to dig into the details behind the decision.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
