Alright so they f!@#@$# up here - no doubt about it. However, a major goal of setting up GMD was to get it up fast so they could learn from it and refactor later (yes, MDA is practicing Agile development!). And they are refactoring the whole system right now.

Not just GMD, but the whole system of systems including Aegis, THAAD, Airborne Lasers, advanced sensors and more. So in the long run I think MDA is following the right strategy - build stuff quick and refactor as needed. I believe this is far more efficient that spending 20 years on a monolithic waterfall development project.

And yes, overall I think national missile defense is a total waste of money compared to other places we could be spending it. But given its a real program (and pretty damn cool from an engineering perspective), they are doing the right thing.