Pentagon to spend $1B on missile defense

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon announced Friday that it will spend $1 billion to add 14 interceptors to a West Coast-based missile defense system by 2017, responding to what it called faster-than-anticipated North Korean progress on nuclear weapons and missiles.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he is determined to ensure protection of the U.S. homeland and stay ahead of the North Korean missile threat. He acknowledged that the interceptors already in place to defend against potential North Korean missile launches have had poor test performances.

"We will strengthen our homeland defense, maintain our commitment to our allies and partners, and make clear to the world that the United States stands firm against aggression," Hagel told a Pentagon news conference.

The Pentagon intends to add the 14 interceptors to 26 already in place at Fort Greely, Alaska. That will expand the system's ability to shoot down long-range missiles in flight before they could reach U.S. territory. In addition to those at Greely, the United States also has four missile interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

James Miller, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said the project would cost about $1 billion.

Miller and Hagel said the United States will conduct environmental studies on three additional potential locations for interceptors in the United States, including on the East Coast, as required by Congress. Hagel said no decision on a particular site has been made, but the studies would shorten the timeline should a decision be made.

Miller said that would provide options for adding interceptors to counter any future increases in the threat from Iran and North Korea.