After more than a year of delays, the U.S. military has finally released its long-awaited Missile Defense Review. The report outlines plans to improve and expand the United States' existing missile defense shield, as well as add additional layers with space-based sensors and interceptors, technology to track and defeat hypersonic weapons, unmanned aircraft with lasers to shoot down threats, and missile-hunting F-35 stealth fighters, among others. The Pentagon officially released the unclassified version of the review at a rollout event led by President Donald Trump, who has become a major advocate for missile defense, a well as Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton, Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, and other senior officials, on Jan. 17, 2019. The U.S. military had originally expected this report to be ready before the end of 2017. "Missile defenses are a key element of our strategy given this proliferation of offensive ballistic and cruise missiles and emerging hypersonic weapons technologies that markedly raise threats to regional balances and to our major allies and partners," Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan wrote in a preface to the review. "Our missile defense systems constitute a cornerstone of our efforts to deter a missile attack by a rogue state on the U.S. and make a clear contribution to our alliances." Given how long it's taken for the Pentagon to release the final review, the bulk of the content has already emerged in budget documents and other public forums. Still, the report further cements the U.S. governments intention to pursue these policies and technologies and we've broken down the key points below: Policy priorities U.S. Missile Defense Shield remains focused primarily on countering threats from smaller potential opponents, such as North Korea and Iran. Traditional nuclear deterrence remains the primary means of responding to existing and future strategic threats from larger potential adversaries such as Russia and China. The U.S. government has no plans to limit developments of missile defense technologies to focus purely on smaller actors. The Missile Defense Shield is a component of an over-arching deterrent posture in that it helps ensure the ability of the United States to respond to a massive attack on the homeland. There is also a call for continued and expanded regional focuses, as well, including greater cooperation and coordination with allies and partners, especially in the face of the growing proliferation of ballistic missiles. The MDR has requirements for various components of the U.S. military to complete a number of studies within the next six months to better formalize and streamline command and control and identify services or other agencies within the Department of Defense to lead efforts to respond to particular threats. The new MDR adds an entirely new emphasis on potential non-ballistic threats posed to the homeland and to U.S. forces deployed abroad, with particular attention on cruise missiles. The 2010 MDR focused almost exclusively on ballistic threats. DOD An infographic from the MDR showing existing and future missile defense threats around the world. DOD A very general overview of the existing U.S. Missile Defense Shield as it exists today. Novel missile defenses In line with the annual National Defense Authorization Act for the 2019 Fiscal Year, the MDR calls for exploration of space-based anti-missile weapons, potentially including physical interceptors or directed energy weapons, a concept you can read about in more detail here. Congress has already demanded that the U.S. military place such a system into operation "at the earliest practicable date," though this does not guarantee any such system will ever be feasible. "We’re going to study it and we’ll see whether or not it’s feasible," an unnamed U.S. defense official told reporters at pre-briefing on the MDR on Jan. 16, 2019. That study will be due within six months, according to the MDR. A laser-armed unmanned aerial vehicle that would be able to engage ballistic missiles during their initial boost-phase right after launch, a concept you can read about more here and here. During this phase of flight, ballistic missiles are particularly vulnerable since they are moving relatively slowly and are generating a large thermal signature making them easier to track and engage. Further exploration of potentially using the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as a boost-phase ballistic missile defense platform. The MDR asks the Air Force to produce a report within six months detailing how it would go about integrating a missile defense capability into the F-35. This is a concept that has been around for some time, but gained renewed traction at the height of tensions with North Korea in 2017. Though likely feasible at its most basic level, we at The War Zone have previously explained in detail why this concept will be extremely expensive and applicable only in a very narrow set of circumstances, calling into question whether it would ever be a worthwhile expenditure of resources. The development of systems to track and potentially defeat hypersonic weapons, which are only becoming an increasing threat. The MDR requires the Missile Defense Agency to outline the resources required for a program to meet those goals within six months. This plan would leverage existing work the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have already done and would likely act as a follow-on or otherwise related effort to DARPA's present Glide Breaker program. The MDR calls on U.S. Strategic Command to produce a sperate study within nine months assessing the present state and future requirements for early warning and engagement regarding hypersonics, as well as more traditional ballistic and cruise missile threats. A timeline in the MDR says the goal is to be able to demonstrate advanced space-based systems, laser-armed unmanned aircraft, and hypersonic defense options by 2030. DOD A very general timeline of certain planned U.S. Missile Shield developments through to 2030. All told, this review has been in the works for so long that little inside is outright new. The biggest single takeaway is the expanding definition of missile defense to more cohesively include non-ballistic threats, including cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons. Concerns about the threat of cruise missiles, especially to the homeland, have waxed and waned over the years, but advanced developments among America's near-peer competitors have surely contributed to the resurgence of interest in countering those weapons. There renewed emphasis on new space-based systems, especially potential space-based weapons, is also significant. If the U.S. military goes ahead with plans to put weapons of any kind into orbit, it seems almost certain to prompt controversy and pushback. At the same time, without any existing arms control agreements regarding the deployment of conventional weapons in space, and with potential opponents, such as Russia and China, developing more robust anti-satellite capabilities, it's easy to see how it could provoke an arms race. Expanding and improving the U.S. missile defense shield will require significant time and resources, as well. At present, it's unclear whether or not the next defense budget will be smaller or larger than the last. When the budget request for the 2020 Fiscal Year comes out later this month, we will likely get an even better picture of how fast the U.S. military expects to move in implementing the plans the MDR has outlined for the next decade or so. Contact the author: jtrevithickpr@gmail.com<doc-sep>The Pentagon’s new Missile Defense Review highlights new space capabilities that could become the next layer of missile defense to deal with the threat of ballistic missile threats posed by North Korea and Iran. According to a senior administration official, the review looks at the development of new space-based sensors that could detect long-range missile before they are launched and calls for the study of whether lasers could be used to counter ballistic missiles that are launched by rogue states. President Donald Trump will visit the Pentagon on Thursday to formally unveil the Missile Defense Review. The first review of its kind to be undertaken since 2010, the Missile Defense Review provides a road ahead for how the United States could continue to counter the ballistic-missile threat to the United States and its regional allies and partners. But while the earlier review focused exclusively on the ballistic-missile threat, the new review broadens the scope to include cruise missile and hypersonic threats being developed by Russia and China. “This is really a comprehensive look at our missile defense capabilities and programs and posture,” a senior administration official told reporters ahead of the review’s release. “Both what we have today, what we’d like to make improvements to and then what are the next generation programs we’d like to invest in to get ahead and stay ahead of the threat.” A key point of emphasis in the review will be space-based capabilities that could help the U.S. stay ahead of the threat, according to the official “Space is key to the next step of missile defense,” said the official. The current U.S. missile defense system consists of a layered approach of interceptor missile aboard Navy ships and long-range, ground-based interceptors based in Alaska and California. The Defense Department will looking at a space-based layer of sensors that could enhance early warning systems to track missiles before they are launched. ABC News has learned that another space technology that might be explored is the development of a space-based interceptor that could fire rockets into space, directed at an incoming missile. The Missile Defense Review also calls for the study of whether to use “directed energy” against incoming missiles, possibly through laser technology, according to the official. The official described it as an advanced capability “we think is worth looking into” and whether it makes sense to be able to deploy such a technology. ABC News has learned that one concept being explored for countering the North Korean missile threat in the future is using a new solid state powered laser on a high-altitude drone. The long-range laser would be able to destroy a North Korean missile while in the initial boost phase of its launch. The United States has 44 ground-based missile interceptors stationed at Fort Greeley in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California designed to intercept North Korean missiles that might be headed towards the United States. The number of ground-based interceptors is already slated to increase to 64 in 2023. The official said the Missile Defense Review will continue studying the feasibility of creating a third such site elsewhere in the continental United States to counter a threat from Iranian long range missiles. The review is likely to rile Russia and China about America’s missile defense system, the official stressed that America’s missile defense systems are purely defensive and directed at a rogue threat. The official noted that the United States continues to rely on its nuclear arsenal to deter any potential Russian or Chinese nuclear attack.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled the first overhaul of American missile defense doctrine in nearly a decade at the Pentagon. Known as the missile defense review, the unclassified report, which was expected last year, is believed to have been delayed because of sensitivities about how to frame threats posed by China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, according to several defense officials. The 108-page report emphasizes the need for a "comprehensive approach to missile defense against rogue state and regional missile threats" and calls for the development of new technologies to its system in the future. "Our goal is simple, to ensure that we can detect and destroy any missile launched against the United States anywhere, anytime, anyplace," Trump said. The initiatives outlined in the missile defense review must receive backing from Congress in order to proceed. On the heels of the report, Russian defense official Viktor Bondarev said the new U.S. missile strategy would increase global tension, Reuters reported, citing Interfax news agency. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a meeting in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. Brendan Smialowski | AFP |Getty Images The latest revelation comes as a crucial nuclear weapons treaty between the world's two greatest nuclear powers hangs in the balance. In October, Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty, an agreement that eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons from U.S. and Russian arsenals. Russia, Trump says, has violated the arms agreement by building and fielding the banned weapons "for many years." On behalf of the administration, national security advisor John Bolton flew to Moscow to personally deliver the decision to the Kremlin. Earlier this week, the U.S. rejected a Russian offer to save the Cold War-era treaty that has kept nuclear-tipped missiles off the European continent for the last 30 years. The U.S. is on track to withdraw from the INF Treaty next month. Trump's speech at the Pentagon marked his first public comments since four Americans — two service members and two civilians who worked for the DoD — were killed in northern Syria in a suicide bombing for which the radical militant group ISIS took responsibility. Trump expressed his "deepest condolences to the families of the brave American heroes who laid down their lives yesterday in selfless service to our nation" in the speech. The president also took time at the beginning of his remarks to address the ongoing clash over border security funding that has resulted in the longest government shutdown on record. "We need strong borders. We need strong barriers and walls. Nothing else is going to work," Trump said. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Vice President Mike Pence both stressed the need to enhance America's missile defense systems in remarks preceding Trump. "Our nation does not seek adversaries, but we will not ignore them either," Shanahan said. The report delves into new technologies being developed by a number of the world's biggest military regimes. A summary of the document notes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's missile systems have given the isolated state "the capability to strike U.S. territories, including Guam, U.S. forces abroad, and allies in the Pacific Ocean." A sailor looks on from the stern of the US Navy's USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) guided missile destroyer during a joint port visit with the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) aircraft carrier (not seen) in Hong Kong on November 21, 2018. Anthony Wallace | AFP | Getty Images<doc-sep>
President Trump announced a new, more aggressive space-based missile defense strategy Thursday to counter threats from North Korea and Iran and to compete with advanced weapons systems being developed by countries like China and Russia. The president laid out his administration’s Missile Defense Review — the first compiled since 2010 – during a speech at the Pentagon, where he highlighted the threat the United States faces from new missile technologies being developed by foreign nations and the growing importance of weaponizing space. “The world is changing,” Trump said. “The United States cannot simply make incremental changes…It is not enough to just keep pace with our adversaries.” TRUMP SIGNS MEMO DIRECTING PENTAGON TO ESTABLISH SPACE COMMAND The president did not mention Russia, China or North Korea in his 20-minute remarks, but Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who also spoke, did. "North Korea's missiles remain a significant concern. So do Iran's," Shanahan said. "America's competitors, including China and Russia, are increasing their missile system capabilities [and] adding new and sophisticated missiles to their arsenals." The Trump administration sees space as a critical area for advanced, next-generation capabilities to stay ahead of threats. Late last year, the president signed a memorandum directing the Pentagon to begin the establishment of the United States Space Command that will pursue programs like anti-satellite weapons, missile detection capability and space-based solar power to counter mounting space threats from Russia and China As part of the U.S.’s move into space defense, Trump announced on Thursday that he is including a space-based missile defense layer in the Pentagon’s upcoming budget to more quickly detect enemy missiles when they are launched. The administration also plans to study the idea of basing interceptors in space, so the U.S. can strike incoming enemy missiles during the first minutes of flight when the booster engines are still burning. “We will terminate any missile launched from hostile powers,” Trump said. “We will ensure that enemy missiles will find no sanctuary.” The president added: “We are a good player, but we can be far worse than anybody.” US ANALYSTS LOCATE SECRET NORTH KOREAN MISSILE SITES The review also recommended constructing 20 new ground-based interceptors in Alaska, as well as a new interceptor site in the continental U.S. Congress, which ordered this review, already has directed the Pentagon to push harder on this "boost-phase" approach, but officials want to study the feasibility of the idea and explore ways it could be done. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, immediately raised concerns, calling the plan a "bad Star Wars sequel." "While it is true that the missile threat environment America now faces is different, the answer is not to build a wall in space," Markey said. Adding that Trump's "misguided rush to weaponize space would be as ineffective, costly, and dangerous as it was more than three decades ago when it was soundly rejected." The new strategy is aimed at better defending the U.S. against potential adversaries, such as Russia and China, who have been developing and fielding a much more expansive range of advanced offensive missiles that could threaten America and its allies. “The United States will adjust its position to defend against any missile strikes to include cruise and hypersonic,” Trump said. For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled new strategic weapons he claims can't be intercepted. One is a hypersonic glide vehicle, which could fly 20 times faster than the speed of sound and make sharp maneuvers to avoid being detected by missile defense systems. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Developments in hypersonic propulsion will revolutionize warfare by providing the ability to strike targets more quickly, at greater distances, and with greater firepower," Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told Congress last year. "China is also developing increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile warheads and hypersonic glide vehicles in an attempt to counter ballistic missile defense systems." The expansion of the scope and cost of missile defenses puts the program in competition with other defense priorities, including the billions of extra dollars the Trump administration has committed to spending on a new generation of nuclear weapons. An expansion also would have important implications for American diplomacy, given long-standing Russian hostility to even the most rudimentary U.S. missile defenses and China's worry that longer-range U.S. missile defenses in Asia could undermine Chinese national security.