U.S. Strategy to Hobble North Korea Was Hidden in Plain Sight
" he said, "we won’t always have the luxury of doing so." The result, he added, would be the continuing need for "solid right-of-launch capability" — in other words, the traditional methods.
that While we would still obviously prefer to take a threat missile out while it’s still on the ground,
Raytheon, an antimissile contractor, gave an industry presentation in 2015 on missile threats to the United States
and plans for new defenses, including cyber and electronic attacks before launch and in the first moments of flight.
Last year, the Pentagon’s budget request for 2017 said an antimissile program known as Nimble Fire had advanced General Dempsey’s goals by exploring "electronic attack"
and "offensive cyber operations." The details, it said, were classified secret.
In 2014, Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told the Atlantic Council
that left-of-launch strikes would, by definition, remain a novel adjunct to wider antimissile efforts.
But in the case of using cyberstrikes, electronic warfare
and other exotic forms of sabotage to redefine antimissile defense for the United States, many high-ranking officials and officers have been talking openly, often to persuade Congress to fund the secretive efforts.