Mind the Gap: Don't Forget Missile Defense Radars

Much of the current debate on missile defense focuses on the need for more missile interceptors, as well as the politics of reconciling Russian and Chinese opposition to the systems with the Iranian and North Korean missile threats.

Although these are important issues, our leaders on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon must not neglect the fielding of adequate numbers of radars and other enablers to support these systems.

The cold reality is that without adequate sensors to detect and track missile threats, the interceptors will be useless. Congress needs to keep this connection in mind as it finalizes its work on this year’s defense spending bills and plans for future budget years.

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