Republicans Seek Kill Vehicle for Block IIB, GMD

In floating an idea for a missile-defense kill vehicle that could work on two of the U.S. military's signature programs, Republicans in Congress might also mend some long-running political divisions between them and their Democratic counterparts. The Obama administration and Democrats in Congress have emphasized the need to address theater missile-defense threats. It has reduced spending on the national missile-defense system known as Boeing's Ground-based Midcourse Defense System (GMD), in favor of investing in a phased adaptive approach (PAA) positioned in Europe to protect the eastern U.S. from an Iranian missile launch ...