8 7 See . for example , Bradley Graham , Rumsfeld Pares Oversight of Missile Defense Agency , Washington Post , February 16 , 2002 , p . A2 ; Milligan , Susan . Critics Fault Rumsfeld For Cutting Oversight Of Antimissile Plan .
The DoD has been researching and developing defenses against ballistic missile attacks.
The DoD has spent over $115 billion since the mid-1980s to develop a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) comprised of land, air, and sea-based elements -- such as missiles and radars -- working together as an integrated system.
In 2002, the Dept. of Defense (DoD) began developing and rapidly fielding a global Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) composed of elements that include radars, interceptors, and command and control systems.
The National Missile Defense system would include: (1) space- and ground-based sensors to provide early warning of attacking missiles and to initially identify and track them; (2) ground-based radars to further identify and track the ...