WASHINGTON — Major delays, cost overruns and critical technological problems are plaguing a missile defense system designed to protect the United States and Europe from an Iranian attack, Pentagon advisers and government investigators say about one of President Barack Obama’s top military programs.
The reports cast doubt on the shield, a politically sensitive issue at home and in relations with Russia. They say missile interceptors are running into production glitches, radars are underpowered and sensors cannot distinguish between warheads and other objects.
A report by the Defense Science Board, an advisory group to the Defense Department, came out late last year but received little notice. Although it concludes there are “no fundamental roadblocks” to the system, it points out big problems without saying how they can be fixed.
Board members declined repeated requests for comment. Outside experts, including the Pentagon’s former chief weapons tester, Philip Coyle, say the issues raised in the report would require substantial and costly changes, if they can all be surmounted at all.
The second report, by Congress’ nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, was released Friday.
Some Republicans say the reports support their view that the program was designed hastily to ease the concerns of Russia, which had objected to previous missile defense plans by the Bush administration, with less regard to whether it would work. Ahead of this November’s election, Republicans are casting Obama as a weak leader, quick to capitulate to the demands of other nations.
“There is a political timeline and agenda that doesn’t meet a scientific, development and security timeline,” said Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, chairman of a House panel that oversees missile defense. “It does not appear that it can deliver the protection for U.S. homeland that this administration promised.”
The administration insists the plans are on track. Obama claims his system would be more reliable than what had been planned by Bush because the new plan was based on tested technology.
“We have made specific and proven advances in our missile defense technology,” Obama said at the time. “Our new approach will, therefore, deploy technologies that are proven and cost-effective and that counter the current threat, and do so sooner than the previous program.”
But the two reports cast doubt on the technology and Obama’s timetable. The advisory board found that the ship-based Aegis radars would have too short a range to provide enough time for the ship’s interceptors to hit the target, a capability it says is essential for coverage for Europe.
This report also said the range of the Turkey-based radar would need to be substantially longer to detect and track attacking missiles early enough to protect Europe. It said that it was not clear how to do the upgrades.
