Missile Defense Alert

There is nothing inevitable about the U.S. winning wars, and on that point the Pentagon’s new missile defense review is alarming. Russia and China are ramping up investments in sophisticated technologies while America is spending less on defending itself. One urgent priority: A constellation of space sensors that could shore up U.S. missile defenses.

More than 20 nations have offensive missile technology, the Defense Department notes in its review released last month. China can already threaten the U.S. with some 125 nuclear missiles. Iran’s medium-range missiles threaten Israel and Europe, and the report notes that Iran “has transferred missile systems to terrorist organizations,” which use them on U.S. allies. Russia is violating the 1987 INF nuclear-missile treaty.

China has been increasing its medium- and intermediate-range missile stocks. “This includes sophisticated anti-ship missiles that pose a direct threat to U.S. aircraft carriers,” the report says. The U.S. has dominated the seas for decades with aircraft carriers, yet Chinese missiles could keep carrier strike groups from operating in the Western Pacific.

Another threat are hypersonic missiles in development by China and Russia, and the Pentagon notes that Russian leaders claim to have such a hypersonic glide vehicle. These missiles fly rapidly at lower altitudes and are more maneuverable, which would help them elude U.S. missile defenses.