WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States military is shifting its focus from ballistic missile defense to defending the US homeland against cruise missile attacks, Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld said on Tuesday.
“Homeland cruise missile defense is shifting above regional ballistic defense in my mind, as far as importance goes,” Admiral Winnefeld said in a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies.
On Friday, the US House of Representatives passed a budget with a specific provision directing the Department of Defense to develop a strategy to detect and defeat Russian cruise missiles.
Winnefeld commented that the United States is working to put JLENS in place as well as other systems to enhance its early warning capability.
The US Department of Defense will also be focused on “changing out” some of the older systems currently used to intercept a cruise missile heading toward Washington, DC.
Eventually, advanced cruise missile defense systems will be set up to defend other “important” parts of the United States, but not the entire country, Winnefeld noted, adding that budgetary constraints limit the extent of missile defense.
The Defense Department requested a total of $8.8 billion in appropriations for 2016 to support all aspects of US missile defense, including programs to counter cruise missile threats.
