Whether that remains the case will depend on how much funding is provided to continue producing and improving systems like Aegis and the Ground-based Midcourse Defense.

FORBES: Can U.S. Defenses Cope With North Korea's Missiles?

That means expanding our homeland missile defense system Ground-based Midcourse Defense to an East Coast site, something that Congress has told the Pentagon to study.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Confronting Iran Beyond the Fiscal Cliff

Such systems include all phases of the Phased Adaptive Approach to missile defenses in Europe, the modernization of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, and the continued development of the two-stage Ground-Based Interceptor as a technological and strategic hedge.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Mapping a National Security Failure: Ratification of the New START Treaty | Page: 14