Missile Defense Agency

The Pentagon's decision last week to cancel a billion-dollar contract held by Boeing Co., due to problems with the "kill vehicle" payload on interceptor missiles like those at Fort Greely, won't affect the expansion project under way at the Army post's missile-defense base.

Fort Greely has declared five so-called "shelter in place" alerts over the past two weeks, apparently in response to recent North Korean missile test launches. The alerts announced over loudspeakers advise people on the fort to stay indoors and take precautions to protect themselves from the toxic exhaust of interceptor missiles that would be launched from Greely in an attempt to knock down U.S.-bound enemy ICBMs. And the announcements have rattled some who live on post.

A prominent critic of U.S. missile defense agrees that a test of the system two weeks ago was a success. And that’s why Philip Coyle is more concerned than ever that the system is fueling a new arms race with both Russia and China.

Despite the apparent easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, soldiers operating the missile-defense base at Fort Greely and elsewhere remain ready to respond to an attack by North Korea or other hostile regimes against the United States. U.S. military officials told reporters on a rare tour of the high-security facility at Greely last week that is the hub of the nation’s defense against missile attack that remains operational 24/7.

A delegation of politicians affiliated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization met with researchers and officials during a stopover Thursday at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Science and Technology Committee came to UAF during a fact-finding visit to Alaska to learn about the university’s research on the impact of climate change in the Arctic.

Work on an $80 million structure at Fort Greely’s missile-defense base is expected to begin by midsummer. But it’ll be mostly design work; military officials say major construction on the project probably won’t get going until next summer.

Fort Greely’s missile-defense base could get a big boost in spending this year if the U.S. Senate approves a measure worked out last week by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The Senate this week will consider approving a federal-budget bill and National Defense Authorization Act, which calls for 80 million dollars in construction at the missile base. That’s in addition to upgrades at the base that will increase the number of interceptor missiles there from the current 26 to 40.

Friday’s announcement by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of a buildup at the missile-defense base at Fort Greely, in response to threats by North Korea, has generated cautious enthusiasm over the prospect of an economic boost for the Interior at a time of budget cuts, furloughs and ongoing cutbacks.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency successfully tested an anti-missile warhead over the weekend. 

The test, conducted with a missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., marked the first time that missiles like those based at Fort Greely have been launched in more than two years. And it sets the stage for the agency and missile-defense contractor Boeing to conduct a full-scale test later this year.