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The Initial Capability and Beyond In December 2002 President George W. Bush directed the DoD to begin fielding limited missile defense capabilities to meet near-term ballistic missile threats to our homeland, deployed forces, allies, and friends. MDA responded to this direction and by late 2004 fielded a system to provide a limited defense capability to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile launched from North Korea or Iran before it can strike the United States. MDA continues an aggressive development program that will yield over the long-term a system having multiple sensors and interceptors integrated by a centralized Com-mand, Control, Battle Management, and Communications network. This network will enable the sharing of missile tracking data from any BMDS sensor to all system compo- nents. MDA also plans to increase the breadth and depth of our missile defenses by adding more forward-deployed, networked sensors, and additional interceptors based at sea and on land. In 2007 MDA began negotiations with Poland and the Czech Republic to deploy long-range defenses in Europe. An integrated, layered BMDS will complicate any attack by the adversary and thereby reduce the military util-ity of ballistic missiles, discourage the proliferation of such technology, and bolster deterrence. Success in missile defense operations depends on develop- ing and integrating technologies and capabilities into sensor and weapon components to perform critical missile defense functions, such as acquisition, discrimination, and target selection. The effective integration of the system requires a sophisticated Command and Control, Battle Management, integrated System Development and Communications architecture, which must be able to accommodate enhanced capabilities as they are integrated into the system over the years. MDA must be ready to provide operational capability while continuing to develop and test the BMDS. To make this possible, we have added a concurrent test, training, and operations (CTTO) capability. Our Acquisition Strategy In January 2002, the Secretary of Defense set forth the fol- lowing missile defense priorities for DoD: • Defend the United States, deployed forces, allies, and friends • Employ a layered BMDS to intercept missiles of all ranges in all phases of flight • Develop and test technologies, use prototype and test assets to provide early BMDS capability, and improve the effectiveness of deployed capability by inserting new technologies as they become available or when the threat warrants an accelerated capability • Field elements of the overall BMDS as soon as practi- cable To implement these priorities, MDA established a single development program for all work required to design, develop, and test the elements and components of an inte- grated BMDS. MDA uses an evolutionary acquisition ap- proach to develop an initial capability and then evolve that capability through technology upgrades and the addition of new layers. The missile defense program was initially structured to deliver capability in two-year “Blocks,” each providing capability upgrades and new fielding opportuni- ties. The first period, Block 2004, represented calendar years 2004-2005; Block 2006, 2006-2007; and Block 2008, 2008-2009 deliveries. Despite MDA’s considerable success to date, Congressional and other stakeholders have called on the Agency to revise its block structure to enhance transparency, accountability and oversight. In response, the MDA Director approved a new block structure approach in June 2007. Blocks will capture fielded capabilities to address particular threats--not structured to reflect biennial time periods. Each Block now represents a discrete program of work. A capability-based acquisition approach, which includes a capability based planning and spiral development, is central to MDA’s acquisition strategy. This approach does not respond to an a priori defined threat, which could change during development and leave us with an inadequate capability. Instead, a capabilities-based approach relies on the development of capabilities and objectives based on technological feasibility, disciplined engineering analyses of warfighter desires and capability gaps, and our understand-ing of the current and future threat environments. This ap-proach allows the Agency to exploit technical opportunities sooner, add capabilities with demonstrated military utility, and adapt to emerging threats. The foundation of MDA’s program of work is an ag- gressive research, development, test and evaluation effort guided by capability-based planning and spiral develop- ment. Spiral development is an iterative process. It allows the Agency to refine program objectives as technology matures through experimentation and risk management. It incorporates continuous feedback derived from regular interaction among developers, the warfighters, and the test community. Spiral development supports an evolutionary acquisition approach to missile defense in which there is no