Criticism increased in recent years as the Pentagon conducted tests of the interceptor, with mixed results. The military launched a Minuteman ballistic missile, acting as a dummy enemy warhead, toward the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific. Prototype interceptors were then fired from the islands, knocking out the "enemy" missiles five out of eight times.
But critics say the tests were rigged. The targets were often equipped with homing devices that provided information an enemy would never provide, to help the interceptor spot it. Pentagon officials insist the homing devices were necessary to test the interceptor's guidance systems.
"It's taken billions of dollars from other defense and homeland security priorities, and it doesn't work," said Philip Coyle, a former Pentagon chief for testing and evaluating weapons. "We're deploying a system that doesn't work and hasn't been adequately tested."
Defense analysts predict that the missile-defense debate will intensify if Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry wins the White House. Kerry has said he would add 40,000 more troops and help pay for them by cutting back on missile-defense spending, though he probably would face stiff opposition from Republicans in Congress.
Of course, there's little doubt where the area's defense contractors would come down in the debate. "The U.S. will have for the first time in history initial defense capability against ballistic missile attack," said Rick Yuse, head of Raytheon's missile- defense business. "That's extremely significant."
