Missile Defense Project

The audacity of Iran’s missile attack last month against U.S. troops shows deterrence in the region has eroded to a new low.

Nearly one month has passed since Iran attacked U.S. troops in Iraq with a barrage of ballistic missiles. As considerably more information has now come to light, a reassessment seems in order. Initially characterized as a symbolic act to be shrugged off, newer information shows the attacks were of greater consequence. The available evidence, for…

Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on January 8, 2020 against U.S. troops in Iraq was an unprecedented moment in U.S.-Iranian relations. Derived from government statements, media reports, and first-hand accounts, this video depicts how the attack unfolded.

In its January 8 attack, Iran achieved strategic effects while minimizing the risks of further escalation. CSIS’s Ian Williams argues that it also shows that Iran’s missiles pose a credible threat to U.S. and allied military forces in the region.

On January 8, 2020, Iran used ballistic missiles to attack U.S. air bases in Iraq, in response to the U.S.-targeted killing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qasem Soleimani. The attack against U.S. bases in Iraq demonstrates that Tehran continues to rely on its missile forces as a tool for signaling, diplomacy,…

For decades, China has engaged in a fervent game of “catch-up” with U.S. military capabilities. This effort, which has ballooned China’s defense spending to 620 percent of its 1990 level, is beginning to bear real fruit. While still far from achieving military parity, China’s military technology and doctrine are quickly coalescing into a coherent form of warfare,…

All figures in millions of dollars. * The Senate NDAA transferred authorization for THAAD O&M and Procurement obligations to the Army. The Senate Appropriations Committee transferred appropriation obligations for Aegis BMD to the Navy and THAAD to the Army. ** Military construction is appropriated by a different subcommittee than the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee. The…

In discussions of Iran’s regional missile proliferation, Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels tend to dominate the conversation. This focus is for good reason: Hezbollah today possesses an estimated 130,000 rockets and short-range missiles, and the Houthis have fired over 250 projectiles into Saudi Arabia since 2015. Yet Iran’s strategy of arming proxies with rockets…

CSIS’s Wes Rumbaugh analyzes the implications of cancelling the Redesigned Kill Vehicle and options for replacing it with the Next Generation Interceptor.