Military space programs at risk, experts say – GovExec
U.S. national security space capabilities, so critical to deployed combat forces and national missile defense, and the supporting industrial base are at a dangerous “tipping point” and need focused leadership and long-term stability in programs and budgets to avoid a crisis, a panel of administration officials and defense space experts warned Tuesday.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering, the former director of the Missile Defense Agency, warned that the soaring cost and prolonged development time for new satellites had left the nation with no backup systems to replace any that could be affected by hostile action.
With the anti-satellite capabilities demonstrated by China and others, the space assets so important to U.S. missile defense are “extremely vulnerable,” Obering said.
