US to test THAAD, an anti-missile missile system

Now that North Korea has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching Alaska and possibly Hawaii, our defense missile system has become significantly more significant. 

We planned our Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile tests months ago. It's a system designed to intercept and blow up short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their final approach to target. They used to be called 'anti-missile-missiles.'

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said the THAAD test against a missile target would be conducted at the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska.

THAAD "will detect, track and engage a target with a THAAD interceptor" rocket in "early July," the MDA wrote.

Lockheed Martin, the main contractor for THAAD said it has the capability to intercept incoming missiles both inside and outside the earth's atmosphere. Hopefully, they're not simply bragging.

The US began sending THAAD to South Korea, drawing criticism from China. They claim the deployment would further destabilize the Korean peninsula and that the system's powerful radar can probe into Chinese territory and see what sneaky stuff they're up to.

Just days ago, Moscow and Beijing called for the immediate halting of the THAAD deployment in South Korea. In other words, they would like to see us not provide any protection of our 28,500 Americans and South Koreans from a North Korea strike should Kim Jong Un wake up on the wrong side of the bed. 

The Russian-Chinese joint statement claimed Washington was using North Korea as a pretext  to expand its military infrastructure in Asia.

They say this as China continues to build and militarize islands in the South China Sea and Russia teams up with Iran.

US THAAD systems were tested in 2006 and were 100 percent successful after 13 test flights. Maybe 13 is our lucky number after all.


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Boeing CEO will save US a few bucks

The CEO of Boeing told President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday that he can save the taxpayers a few bucks to build a new Air Force One since the original quote was unacceptable. 

Early this month, Mr. Trump blasted Boeing for alleged cost overruns with the new fleet of Air Force One jets. He called on the government to cancel the contract and called the $4 billion price tag out of control.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, FL. He spoke to the media after the meeting and said, "We're going to get it done for less than that, and we're committed to working together to make sure that happens."

It seems like Trump isn't taking the "old school" political position that government stuff costs a lot. He's challenging it, and that's a good thing. While it doesn't make a dent in taxpayer expenditure for the year, it's a posture that sits well with conservatives who've long felt that the government has fleeced us long enough. 

Trump also met with Lockheed Martin Corp's Marillyn Hewson after he had gone public about the exorbitant cost of its F-35.

While this may seem like small potatoes, it's a start at looking deeply into the costs we've been paying for things that may not cost as much as they're charging.

Simple. Smart.


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