The U.S. Missile Defense Agency will not offer the public a detailed view of its fiscal 2025 budget when the president releases his spending request on March 11, breaking a decades-long tradition.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, the agency’s director, said March 7 at the McAleese & Associates conference that the agency was told by the Pentagon it would not conduct its usual briefing as part of Monday’s formal rollout. He referred questions to the Defense Department.
Collins noted he’s working with his staff on finding another forum to detail its budget request, adding that the agency would “still make sure” to “get the appropriate information out.”
Several reporters and analysts recalled MDA budget briefings took place as long ago as the early 2000s.
When asked about the decision, Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood declined to confirm it.
“We will not preview content or briefers before the president’s budget release,” he said. “The undersecretary of defense (comptroller)/chief financial officer will decide which departments and agencies brief their respective budgets during the DoD budget rollout press conference.”
This year marks the first budget cycle in which Collins is leading MDA. President Joe Biden tapped Collins to be MDA director in May 2023; he succeeded Vice Adm. Jon Hill, who had served as the agency’s leader since 2019.
Collins did not officially take command of the agency until Congress confirmed him in December, after Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., released a lengthy blanket hold on military officer confirmations.
Last year, MDA sought a budget of $10.9 billion, prioritizing regional and homeland missile defense with a major focus on building an air and missile defense architecture in Guam.
The agency is in the midst of major modernization efforts to keep up with the pace of emerging, complex threats. This includes developing a Next Generation Interceptor to replace Ground-Based Interceptors that make up the roughly 20-year-old Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System. That system protects the homeland from potential intercontinental ballistic missile attacks from countries like North Korea and Iran.
The agency is also working on a Glide Phase Interceptor to defeat hypersonic missile threats farther from intended targets.
Noah Robertson contributed to this story.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
