In 2002, the President reinforced ballistic missile defense as a national priority and directed DOD to proceed with plans to develop and put in place an initial capability beginning in 2004. To expedite the delivery of an operationally capable BMDS, in 2002 the Secretary of Defense established MDA, granted the agency expanded responsibility and authority to develop globally integrated capabilities, directed it to manage all ballistic missile defense systems then under development, and transferred those systems controlled by the military services to the agency. The systems transferred from the services and the new systems whose development MDA initiates are all considered to be ballistic missile defense elements. Since its creation in 2002, MDA has developed, fielded, and declared ready for operations an increasingly complex set of ballistic missile defenses designed to defend the United States, deployed forces, allies, and friends from limited ballistic missile attacks. By leveraging existing service weapon systems and developmental concepts, MDA fielded an initial defensive capability beginning in 2004 to defend the United States from a limited, long-range ballistic missile attack. This initial defensive capability included the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system of interceptors and fire control systems, Upgraded Early Warning Radars, sea-based radars installed aboard Aegis cruisers and destroyers, and an early version of the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) element. MDA first made these elements available for operations in April 2005 by establishing the initial BMDS operational baseline. DOD first put these elements to operational use by activating them in 2006 in response to North Korean ballistic missile activity. Since that time, DOD has added some elements to the operational baseline while declaring others ready for contingencies. Table 1 identifies the fielding locations and dates that MDA first delivered operational elements to the combatant commands as of July 2009. As table 1 indicates, DOD has designated lead services for seven of the eight elements that have been delivered to the combatant commands for operational use; MDA currently plans to retain control of the eighth element delivered to date—C2BMC—and not transition it to a single lead service. Lead military services are expected to provide the rest of the military force structure—the organizations, personnel, and training— required for operations as the elements become more technically mature. Lead military services are also expected to begin funding operational and support costs as elements transition from MDA to the services. To develop ballistic missile defense capabilities, MDA both modified existing service weapon systems to perform ballistic missile defense missions and developed new elements, many based on previously existing concepts, expressly for ballistic missile defense purposes. For example, MDA developed the Upgraded Early Warning Radar and Aegis BMD elements as modifications to existing service weapon systems, whereas MDA developed the Ground-based Midcourse Defense and THAAD elements based on developmental programs transferred to MDA in 2002. MDA has spent about $56 billion since 2002 to develop these assets. Additionally, MDA’s fiscal year 2010 budget request proposes to develop more advanced Aegis BMD interceptors capable of addressing intermediate-range ballistic missile threats, enhance the C2BMC element’s capabilities, and undertake other developmental initiatives, including research into ascent phase technologies. These developments are likely to affect both element quantities and service force structure requirements as MDA begins to field these capabilities. MDA, under the direction and oversight of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, is responsible for evaluating ballistic missile defense capabilities to determine which elements are ready to perform military operations, giving the Secretary of Defense the option of activating elements for operational use. Under MDA’s approach, an element is first available for crisis and contingency operations when it has achieved Early Capability Delivery, based upon MDA’s assessment of element-level tests and its determination that the element’s employment will not degrade other operational ballistic missile defenses. According to MDA’s current approach, an Early Capability Delivery declaration is the first point at which an element is made available for operational employment in defense of the United States and U.S. allies. Subsequently, MDA declares when an element is added to the operational baseline by declaring that it has achieved Partial Capability Delivery, and is capable of day-to-day operations, or Full Capability Delivery meaning that the element is able to sustain operations over longer periods. In May 2009, MDA updated its approach to making capability declarations so that it considers not only the agency’s own developmental assessments, but also a U.S. Strategic Command-led assessment of the element’s capabilities and limitations under operational conditions. MDA’s first capability review under this new approach is expected to occur later in 2009. Oversight of MDA is executed by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Because MDA is not subject to DOD’s traditional joint requirements determination processes and because it utilizes flexible acquisition practices, DOD developed alternative oversight mechanisms. For example, in 2007 the Deputy Secretary of Defense established the Missile Defense Executive Board, which is to provide the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics or Deputy Secretary of Defense, as necessary, with a recommended ballistic missile defense strategic program plan and feasible funding strategy for approval. In September 2008, the Deputy Secretary of Defense also established the BMDS Life Cycle Management Process, and directed the board to use the process to oversee the annual preparation of a required capabilities portfolio and develop a program plan to meet the requirements with Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; procurement; operations and maintenance; and military construction in defensewide accounts. DOD is currently undertaking a review of its approach and requirements for ballistic missile defenses. In the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, Congress required DOD to prepare a review of the ballistic missile defense policy and strategy of the United States. Among other matters, the congressionally mandated review is to address the full range of ballistic missile threats to the United States, deployed forces, friends, and allies; the organization, discharge, and oversight of acquisition for ballistic missile defense programs; roles and responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, defense agencies, combatant commands, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and military departments in such programs; DOD’s process for determining the force structure and inventory objectives for ballistic missile defense programs; the near-term and long-term affordability and cost-effectiveness of such programs; and the role of international cooperation on missile defense in the ballistic missile defense policy and strategy of the United States. Congress required DOD to provide a report on its review by January 31, 2010. This report is one in a series of reports we have issued on ballistic missile defense that have identified key acquisition, management, and operational challenges associated with the development of the BMDS. In August 2009 we published a report identifying actions that DOD needs to take to improve planning and to increase the transparency of total costs for the proposed European Interceptor Site and European Midcourse Radar elements. In March 2009, we issued our sixth annual assessment of DOD’s progress in developing the BMDS; this report concluded that although MDA had shown the benefits of its flexible acquisition practices by fielding and improving upon an initial ballistic missile defense capability since 2005, this approach also has limited the ability of DOD and congressional decision makers to measure MDA’s progress on cost, schedule, testing, and performance. In September 2008, we found that although DOD had begun preparing for BMDS operations and support, difficulties in transitioning these responsibilities from MDA to lead services had complicated long-term planning to operate and support the elements over their life cycle. In July 2008, we reported that DOD had taken some steps to address the combatant commands’ ballistic missile defense needs, but had yet to establish an effective process for identifying and addressing the overall priorities of the combatant commands when developing ballistic missile defense capabilities. We reported in May 2006 that DOD had begun preparations to operate ballistic missile defenses, such as identifying lead services, but had not established the criteria that must be met before the BMDS can be declared operational. DOD has identified its needs for establishing an initial and evolving ballistic missile defense capability, but lacks the comprehensive analytic basis needed to make fully informed decisions about the overall mix of elements and interceptors that it requires. A knowledge-based decision- making approach can help to provide the comprehensive analytic basis needed to establish missile defense policies and strategies and determine funding priorities. For ballistic missile defense, such an approach would require full examination of the optimal type and quantity of various ballistic missile defense elements and interceptors needed to meet all of DOD’s requirements—a complex task due to the many factors that should be considered, including the evolving nature of the threat and emerging technologies. For example, the same mix of Aegis BMD ships and THAAD batteries provides different defensive coverage depending on whether the elements are acting autonomously or are integrated with another X-band radar. However, DOD’s assessments of missile defense requirements prepared to date were limited in scope primarily because they were prepared for specific purposes. The Joint Staff, for example, conducted studies to identify the minimum interceptor quantities needed for certain ballistic missile defense elements designed to defend against short-to- intermediate-range threats. Additionally, the combatant commands have analyzed their ballistic missile defense requirements for their specific regions, and the services have studied requirements for specific elements. Without a comprehensive analytic basis that identifies the full range of operational type and quantity requirements for ballistic missile defense elements, DOD may not be acquiring the optimized mix of elements and interceptors that would provide the most effective missile defense. MDA identified how many and what type of ballistic missile defense elements were needed to begin fielding an initial set of capabilities in 2004 and to evolve the BMDS over time. Directed by the President in 2002 to begin fielding an initial set of missile defense capabilities in 2004, MDA undertook the major early assessments that established DOD’s initial and evolving ballistic missile defensive capability, which formed the foundation of the current BMDS.