Missile Defense Interceptor Gets $1.7 Billion U.S. Budget Boost

The Pentagon has shifted $1.7 billion in efficiency savings through 2016 to pay for development of a new interceptor intended to let U.S. forces hit long-range Iranian missiles, according to a congressional memo obtained from a staff member who didn’t want to be identified.

The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency identified $2.4 billion of budget savings and seeks to shift most of that for an upgrade of a weapon known as the Standard Missile, according to a Jan. 24 memo prepared for House Armed Services Committee members by the panel’s staff. The missile agency’s proposed savings are part of $100 billion the Pentagon has said it wants to trim from overhead and low-priority items so it can increase spending on higher priority weapons and personnel through 2016.