
Wes Rumbaugh is a fellow in the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His work focuses on missile defense, conventional long-range strike, and defense budgets and organizations. He has published on the composition of the Missile Defense Agency budget, homeland ballistic missile defense, new operational concepts for missile defense systems, the role of elevated sensors in missile strike and defense, and trends in hypersonic strike. Previously, he was director of advocacy and a Van Cleave fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. He holds a BS in political science from Missouri State University.
Areas of Expertise
In the News 8 of 9 results
Can Donald Trump’s Iron Dome plan keep America safe?
Tom Karako, Wes Rumbaugh, and Masao Dahlgren in The Economist — August 11, 2024
How fear of ‘escalation’ has Biden admin handcuffing Ukraine against Russia
Wes Rumbaugh in New York Post — June 21, 2024
The Six-Bladed 'Ninja-Bomb’ Used to Take Out Key Human Targets
Wes Rumbaugh in The Wall Street Journal — May 23, 2024
Houthi fight extracts heavy cost from Pentagon
Wes Rumbaugh in The Hill — March 2, 2024
Norfolk-based ships part of retaliatory attack in Red Sea
Wes Rumbaugh in WVEC — February 5, 2024
Space Perspective's balloon-like spacecraft is floating toward a 2024 commercial launch. See new photos of the high-altitude luxury vehicle — including its fancy space toilet.
Wes Rumbaugh in Business Insider — October 24, 2023
Ukraine Launches U.S. 'Small Diameter' Bomb With Longer Range Than HIMARS
Wes Rumbaugh in Newsweek — March 28, 2023
Lawmakers chart ‘middle course’ on space-based missile warning funding
Wes Rumbaugh in Defense News — January 13, 2023
All Wes Rumbaugh Content
Filter by
Did the U.S. Defense of Israel from Missile Attacks Meaningfully Deplete Its Interceptor Inventory?
Critical Questions by Wes Rumbaugh — December 4, 2024
“Cost and Value in Air and Missile Defense Intercepts”: Audio Brief with Wes Rumbaugh
Podcast Episode by Wes Rumbaugh — February 14, 2024

Cost and Value in Air and Missile Defense Intercepts
Commentary by Wes Rumbaugh — February 13, 2024
Homeland Cruise Missile Defense
Event — July 14, 2022
North America Is a Region, Too
Report by Tom Karako, Ian Williams, Wes Rumbaugh, Ken Harmon, and Matthew Strohmeyer — July 14, 2022
Seeking Alignment: Missile Defense and Defeat in the 2022 Budget
Brief by Wes Rumbaugh and Tom Karako — December 10, 2021
Extending the Horizon: Elevated Sensors for Targeting and Missile Defense
Brief by Wes Rumbaugh and Tom Karako — September 27, 2021
The Air and Missile War in Nagorno-Karabakh: Lessons for the Future of Strike and Defense
Critical Questions by Shaan Shaikh and Wes Rumbaugh — December 8, 2020
Inflection Point: Missile Defense and Defeat in the 2021 Budget
Brief by Tom Karako and Wes Rumbaugh — March 22, 2020
A New Generation of Homeland Missile Defense Interceptors
Critical Questions by Wes Rumbaugh — November 12, 2019