Shielded from Oversight

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the US Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, costing over $40 billion, lacks demonstrated real-world capability because it was exempted from standard military acquisition and oversight rules. The report finds that most interceptors were fielded before successful testing and that current tests are overly simplified, leading to a system that is not on a credible path to operational utility.

• The George W. Bush administration exempted the GMD system from standard 'DOD5000' acquisition rules and mandatory oversight, accountability, and financial transparency procedures to accelerate deployment.
• The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) was granted excessive autonomy, including the power to set its own requirements, review its own performance, and use research and development funds for fielding interceptors to avoid procurement oversight.
• The GMD system has a poor test record, with more than half of its intercept tests failing, and it has not been tested against realistic threats such as tumbling warheads or credible decoys.
• A significant number of interceptors were deployed before their specific designs had been successfully tested; specifically, the MDA fielded both CE-I and CE-II kill vehicles before any intercept tests occurred.
• The GMD system has cost more than $40 billion, yet Pentagon testing officials and a 2012 National Academy of Sciences study have concluded it lacks an operationally useful capability and is 'deficient' in fundamental principles.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2016). Shielded from Oversight. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/07/Shielded-from-Oversight-executive-summary.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Shielded from Oversight. 2016. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/07/Shielded-from-Oversight-executive-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Shielded from Oversight |date=July 2016 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/07/Shielded-from-Oversight-executive-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2016shielded, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Shielded from Oversight}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/07/Shielded-from-Oversight-executive-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }