Missile defense winners and losers

[FarCenter]

...
WINNERS

Alaska

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich (D) said the decision to scrap the land-based anti-missile system in Eastern Europe made the ground-based missile defense system at the U.S. Army’s Ft. Greely more important.
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Russia

Thursday’s announcement from the Kremlin — which had bitterly complained that a U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe would compromise its security — left little doubt that Russia thinks it came out ahead, an assessment shared by many GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
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Lockheed Martin and Raytheon

As Mark Twain might put it, reports about the demise of missile defense are greatly exaggerated. The administration’s new plan focuses future investment on short- and medium-range missile systems including the Patriot, the Theater High-Altitude Air Defense system (THAAD), the Aegis ballistic missile system and the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3).


By extension, that means potential new business for Lockheed Martin, the nation’s largest defense contractor, which makes the Aegis missile defense system and THAAD. Raytheon, which makes the SM-3 missile and the Patriot, also likely will see a boost.
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The Navy
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At a more basic level, the shift to sea-based missile defenses has already benefitted the Navy, which struggles every year for money to increase the size of its fleet. The president asked for six more DDG-51 ballistic-missile-capable destroyers for the Navy’s fiscal year 2010 budget, and more can be expected.
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LOSERS

Alabama
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The first-term, Blue Dog Democrat represents Huntsville, Ala., where the Boeing’s ground-based missile defense research is based. His district has 32,000 military jobs and is home to 78,000 military retirees.
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Boeing

Boeing’s ground-based missile system has been cut off at the knees – first by Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision to scale back those systems in California and Alaska, and now by the President’s decision to cut the Bush Administration’s European missile shield.
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The Army
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But some analysts expect a food fight between the Army’s missile operations in Hunstville, Ala., and the Navy’s emerging missile research center in Dahlgren, Va.. The momentum seems to be with the Navy as the Boeing missile defense system based in Huntsville is scaled back and budgets for the ship-board Aegis and SM-3 increase.
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Poland
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Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27327.html#ixzz0RZxVKZJs

[greennina]

1. If you don't make people want to shoot missles at you...

they won't. This entire thing is a huge corporate welfare scam.

[indepat]

2. Is not our largely corporatist society but one humongous corporate scam

with proof of this in the pudding concocted in the budget and the spending bills eventually enacted into law? :P