WASHINGTON - The United States could use its F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft to down hostile ballistic missiles, such as those routinely launched by North Korea. Pyongyang continues to develop longer range ballistic missiles, as well as working on nuclear weapons.
An F-35 could use an air-to-air missile to hit a hostile ballistic missile during its ascent phase of flight. During this phase, the missile is moving slowly and is unable to deploy decoys. In 2007, Lockheed Martin received a $3 million contract to study the possible use of an air-to-air missile as a hit-to-kill missile defense system.
The United States has spent $40 billion on ground-based missile interceptors.
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