Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Background
As prime contractor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Program, Boeing delivered the initial set of missile defense capabilities to protect the United States against a long-range ballistic missile threat. Meeting President George W. Bush's 2002 Presidential Directive, the GMD team emplaced five alert capable ground-based interceptors at Ft. Greely, Alaska in late 2004. This capability now includes additional interceptors at Ft. Greely and interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and other assets to include land- and-sea-based radars, a battle management command and control system consisting of an extensive space-based and fiber optic communications network, and two geographically dispersed fire-control nodes.
GMD's operational robustness / capability is planned to expand under the government's spiral development plan to protect the United States and its friends, allies and deployed forces.