CBO: Missile Defense Spending To Peak At $15 Billion Yearly In Fiscal 2018

Actual Missile Defense Outlays May Need To Be $4 Billion More Yearly

Missile defense spending will peak at an annual rate of $15 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2018, before trending downward, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the history of spending on major programs shows it might have to be $4 billion higher each year.

"Carrying out current plans would cause total investment costs for missile defenses to peak in 2018 at about $15 billion (excluding unbudgeted costs)," according to the nonpartisan congressional budget agency.

After 2018, outlays on missile defense "decrease as systems finished the procurement phase and became operational," according to CBO.

The report estimates that the peak in missile defense spending would come about two years later than that projected by CBO in October 2006 because of revised schedules in several major programs.

Missile defense costs may prove to be higher than expected, according to the report.

"If historical cost growth is taken into account, … projected investment needs for missile defenses might be about $4 billion higher each year," the report states.

It breaks down the multi-layered U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) shield programs by just when each type of anti-missile system would strike an incoming enemy missile: early (boost phase), midcourse or late (terminal) in its ballistic missile trajectory toward a target in the United States or one of its allies.

The report titled "Long-Term Implications of Current Defense Plans: Summary Update for Fiscal Year 2008" can be read by going to http://www.gao.gov on the Web.