#6 of 14

Ballistic Missile Defense System $120 Billion for Research and Development

And finally, we have quite possibly the most expensive military project ever. Or it will be, if it ever really gets off the ground (get it? “Ballistic Missiles?” “Off the ground?” No?? OK.) This is the original “Star Wars” nuclear missile defense net originally envisioned by President Reagan.  Unfortunately, the project has gone through tons of iterations over the years, and many parties even think we should scrap it, given that it’s unlikely Islamic militants are going to rain hundreds of ICBMs down upon us, as we always thought those old Soviets would try to do. This might be a smart idea because for a defense network that doesn’t really exist in coherent fashion, we’ve sunk at least $120 billion into research and development. But does it work, you want to know? Well, who knows? We have lots of planes, lots of radars, and lots of missiles pointed into the sky but very little sense of where an attack might come from or how. So we’ve got that going for us. That and the ongoing price tag.