CargoAdmin, Bureaucrats, Moderators (CommentStreams), fileuploaders, Interface administrators, newuser, Push subscription managers, Suppressors, Administrators
14,662
edits
m (Text replacement - "Reuters" to "Reuters") |
m (Text replacement - "George W. Bush" to "George W. Bush") |
||
Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
The '''Missile Defense Agency''' ('''MDA''') is a component of the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government's]] [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] responsible for developing a comprehensive [[Missile defense|defense]] against [[ballistic missile]]s. It had its origins in the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI) which was established in 1983 by [[Ronald Reagan]] and which was headed by [[James A. Abrahamson|Lt. General James Alan Abrahamson]]. Under the Strategic Defense Initiative's Innovative Sciences and Technology Office<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N47/sdi.47n.html|title=SDIO Funds Research|date=November 5, 1985|work=MIT: The Tech|access-date=May 25, 2018|archive-date=August 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808172209/http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N47/sdi.47n.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Special Presentation: Innovative Science and Technology Programs|date=June 3, 1988|work=SPIE – Digital Library|doi=10.1117/12.947548}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/19870401/3487.html|title=Star War's Inc.|date=April 1987|work=Inc. Magazine}}</ref> headed by physicist and engineer Dr. James Ionson,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Washington's Ins & Outs: Ionson and Mense Leave SDIO|date=June 1988|journal=Physics Today|doi=10.1063/1.2811448|last1=Goodwin |first1=Irwin |volume=41 |issue=6 |page=53 |bibcode=1988PhT....41f..53G }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/9425/title/Low-Profile-for-SDI-Work-on-Campus/|title=Low Profile for SDI Work on Campus|date=May 1988|work=The Scientist Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N46/sdi.46n.html|title=Ionson Counters SDI Dispute|date=November 1985|work=MIT: The Tech|access-date=2018-05-25|archive-date=2012-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808200002/http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N46/sdi.46n.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N45/sdi.45n.html|title=Ionson Defends SDI Program|date=October 1985|work=MIT: The Tech|access-date=2018-05-25|archive-date=2012-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616203932/http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N45/sdi.45n.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> the investment was predominantly made in basic research at national laboratories, universities, and in industry. These programs have continued to be key sources of funding for top research scientists in the fields of high-energy physics, advanced materials, nuclear research, supercomputing/computation, and many other critical science and engineering disciplines—funding which indirectly supports other research work by top scientists, and which was most politically viable to fund from appropriations for national defense.<ref name="ReferenceA">85-25: National Policy on Transfer of Scientific, Technical and Engineering Information, Security Innovation for Estate Protection</ref> It was renamed the [[Ballistic Missile Defense Organization]] in 1993, and then renamed the Missile Defense Agency in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mda.mil/about/history.html|title=MDA History|date=January 23, 2019|website=mda.mil|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref> The current director is Lieutenant General Heath A. Collins.<ref>{{Cite press release | url = https://www.mda.mil/news/23news0005.html | title = Lieutenant General Heath A. Collins is confirmed as the Director, Missile Defense Agency | date = December 5, 2023 | work = www.mda.mil | publisher = Missile Defense Agency | access-date = October 18, 2024 | location = Fort Belvoir, Virginia}}</ref> | The '''Missile Defense Agency''' ('''MDA''') is a component of the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government's]] [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] responsible for developing a comprehensive [[Missile defense|defense]] against [[ballistic missile]]s. It had its origins in the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI) which was established in 1983 by [[Ronald Reagan]] and which was headed by [[James A. Abrahamson|Lt. General James Alan Abrahamson]]. Under the Strategic Defense Initiative's Innovative Sciences and Technology Office<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N47/sdi.47n.html|title=SDIO Funds Research|date=November 5, 1985|work=MIT: The Tech|access-date=May 25, 2018|archive-date=August 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808172209/http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N47/sdi.47n.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Special Presentation: Innovative Science and Technology Programs|date=June 3, 1988|work=SPIE – Digital Library|doi=10.1117/12.947548}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/19870401/3487.html|title=Star War's Inc.|date=April 1987|work=Inc. Magazine}}</ref> headed by physicist and engineer Dr. James Ionson,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Washington's Ins & Outs: Ionson and Mense Leave SDIO|date=June 1988|journal=Physics Today|doi=10.1063/1.2811448|last1=Goodwin |first1=Irwin |volume=41 |issue=6 |page=53 |bibcode=1988PhT....41f..53G }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/9425/title/Low-Profile-for-SDI-Work-on-Campus/|title=Low Profile for SDI Work on Campus|date=May 1988|work=The Scientist Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N46/sdi.46n.html|title=Ionson Counters SDI Dispute|date=November 1985|work=MIT: The Tech|access-date=2018-05-25|archive-date=2012-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808200002/http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N46/sdi.46n.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N45/sdi.45n.html|title=Ionson Defends SDI Program|date=October 1985|work=MIT: The Tech|access-date=2018-05-25|archive-date=2012-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616203932/http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N45/sdi.45n.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> the investment was predominantly made in basic research at national laboratories, universities, and in industry. These programs have continued to be key sources of funding for top research scientists in the fields of high-energy physics, advanced materials, nuclear research, supercomputing/computation, and many other critical science and engineering disciplines—funding which indirectly supports other research work by top scientists, and which was most politically viable to fund from appropriations for national defense.<ref name="ReferenceA">85-25: National Policy on Transfer of Scientific, Technical and Engineering Information, Security Innovation for Estate Protection</ref> It was renamed the [[Ballistic Missile Defense Organization]] in 1993, and then renamed the Missile Defense Agency in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mda.mil/about/history.html|title=MDA History|date=January 23, 2019|website=mda.mil|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref> The current director is Lieutenant General Heath A. Collins.<ref>{{Cite press release | url = https://www.mda.mil/news/23news0005.html | title = Lieutenant General Heath A. Collins is confirmed as the Director, Missile Defense Agency | date = December 5, 2023 | work = www.mda.mil | publisher = Missile Defense Agency | access-date = October 18, 2024 | location = Fort Belvoir, Virginia}}</ref> | ||
Rapid changes in the strategic environment due to the rapid [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] led, in 1993, to [[Bill Clinton]] focusing on [[theatre ballistic missile|theater ballistic missiles]] and similar threats, and renaming it the [[Ballistic Missile Defense Organization]], BMDO. With another change to a more global focus made by | Rapid changes in the strategic environment due to the rapid [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] led, in 1993, to [[Bill Clinton]] focusing on [[theatre ballistic missile|theater ballistic missiles]] and similar threats, and renaming it the [[Ballistic Missile Defense Organization]], BMDO. With another change to a more global focus made by George W. Bush, in 2002 the organization became the Missile Defense Agency. | ||
The Missile Defense Agency is partially or wholly responsible for the development of several [[ballistic missile defense]] (BMD) systems, including the [[Patriot PAC-3]], [[Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System|Aegis BMD]], [[THAAD]] and the [[Ground-Based Midcourse Defense]] system with a cost of $246 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherman |first=Jason |date=2024-11-01 |title=MDA pegs cost of Missile Defense System at $246B, prioritizes SM-3 Bk IIA over IB |url=https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/mda-pegs-cost-missile-defense-system-246b-prioritizes-sm-3-bk-iia-over-ib |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Inside Defense |language=en-US}}</ref> They also led the development of numerous other projects, including the [[Multiple Kill Vehicle]] and the newer Multi-Object Kill Vehicle, the [[Kinetic Energy Interceptor]] and the [[Boeing YAL-1|Airborne Laser]]. As the inheritor of the SDI and BMDO work, the MDA continues to fund fundamental research in high-energy physics, supercomputing/computation, advanced materials, and many other science and engineering disciplines.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> | The Missile Defense Agency is partially or wholly responsible for the development of several [[ballistic missile defense]] (BMD) systems, including the [[Patriot PAC-3]], [[Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System|Aegis BMD]], [[THAAD]] and the [[Ground-Based Midcourse Defense]] system with a cost of $246 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherman |first=Jason |date=2024-11-01 |title=MDA pegs cost of Missile Defense System at $246B, prioritizes SM-3 Bk IIA over IB |url=https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/mda-pegs-cost-missile-defense-system-246b-prioritizes-sm-3-bk-iia-over-ib |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Inside Defense |language=en-US}}</ref> They also led the development of numerous other projects, including the [[Multiple Kill Vehicle]] and the newer Multi-Object Kill Vehicle, the [[Kinetic Energy Interceptor]] and the [[Boeing YAL-1|Airborne Laser]]. As the inheritor of the SDI and BMDO work, the MDA continues to fund fundamental research in high-energy physics, supercomputing/computation, advanced materials, and many other science and engineering disciplines.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> |
edits