A new government report raises doubts about whether an Alaska-based missile defense system could protect the U.S. from a North Korean attack.
Alaska Public Radio Network reports that the Government Accountability Office says the rush to expand the missile defense system could compromise its reliability.
The report says the Department of Defense is in a hurry to expand the defense system, primarily housed at Fort Greely, to 40 ground-based interceptors. Report author Cristina Chaplain says the problem is that the Missile Defense Agency overlapped the testing and production phases for new missiles to meet a 2017 deadline.
She says that led the agency to rapidly place the interceptors without being sure they could work as intended.
A spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency said Thursday that the agency is still reviewing the report.