Overview

• Leaked slides outline a four-layer defense architecture combining a satellite-based sensing and targeting tier with land-based interceptors, radar arrays and directed-energy systems.
• A new missile field mapped in the U.S. Midwest would establish a third Ground-Based Midcourse Defense site alongside existing launch complexes in California and Alaska.
• Congress has appropriated $25 billion and the administration has requested another $45.3 billion, leaving funding gaps in the program’s $175 billion estimate.
• Lockheed Martin executives characterized the run-up to a 2028 operational deadline as extremely tight given the need for extensive testing and large-scale integration.
• Key technical challenges include unproven space-based interceptors, undetermined counts of launchers and ground stations, and communication latency across the defense network.