Pentagon Adjusting Missile Defense Policy To Include Threats From Russia And China

This U.S. missile defense system is called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD. LOCKHEED MARTIN

Stars and Stripes/Washington Post: Pentagon looks to adjust missile defense policy to include threats from Russia, China

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is working on an expanded U.S. missile defense policy that would address certain threats from Russia and China, departing from a previous strategy that focused nearly exclusively on rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran.

The new policy will still call for bolstered technology against rogue states, with a particular focus on weapons to intercept North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's missiles. But people familiar with the review say it will also mention the need to consider missile threats from Russia and China, a change from previous doctrine.

The document remains in a draft form and could change before its tentative release in late March.

Deliberations on the policy at the Pentagon come as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens the United States with new weaponry, including a nuclear-powered cruise missile that he touted publicly for the first time during a presidential address on Thursday.

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Update: US revising missile defense policy to include threats from Russia, China: Report (Asia Times)

WNU Editor: This reassessment is no surprise. Red flags are being raised everywhere .... As Putin touts hypersonic weapons, America prepares its own arsenal. Will it be in time? (Aaron Mehta, Defense News).