By Paul McLeary on April 27, 2021 at 5:18 PM WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has a fresh estimate for how much its new ballistic missile defense program will cost over the next decade-plus, now that the department’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office has wrapped up a review. CAPE is well-respected and influential for its independent cost assessments on new weapons programs. The Next Generation Interceptor effort, designed to shoot down missiles launched at the United States from North Korea and Iran, should run about $17.7 billion to develop, field, and maintain 21 interceptors in the coming years, CAPE said today. The program was approved by the DoD in March when it awarded developmental contracts to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.