Brooks' Amendment Requires Roadmap for Ground-based Midcourse Defense System
Washington, D.C. – Today the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee passed their mark for H.R. 1735, the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the Department of Defense. The House Armed Services Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 29, for full committee markup of the NDAA.
Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) successfully amended H.R. 1735 to direct the Missile Defense Agency, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, to develop and give congressional defense committees a roadmap of recommended time-phased improvements that must be incorporated into the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program from 2016 to 2025, to ensure the viability of the GMD system to protect the U.S. homeland from the growing threat of ballistic missiles. By providing a roadmap with a timetable, lawmakers are better positioned to understand the significant upgrades and funding necessary for the United States to remain ahead of America’s geopolitical foes.
Congressman Brooks said, “In light of growing threats from America’s adversaries, a strong missile defense system is vital to the safety and security of America and American troops deployed overseas. Ground-based Midcourse Defense is America’s primary protection against a long-range ballistic missile attack. GMD must be developed and funded at levels necessary to provide America with a reliable, capable, and cost effective weapon system that can and will defeat current and anticipated emerging threats. My amendment requires a roadmap for GMD, thus ensuring critical program goals are achieved and properly funded by Congress. I’m proud of the work done in the Tennessee Valley on this vital system.”
Text of Congressman Brooks’ Amendment:
The committee believes that as adversaries of the United States develop or acquire ballistic missiles, the United States must maintain, improve, and expand our capability to protect the homeland from ballistic missile attack through the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System. The committee also believes that by 2020, the GMD system requires a significant block upgrade of an ALL-Up-Round (AUR) Ground Based Interceptor that incorporates a redesigned Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle; incorporating increased capability and reliability at much lower production and maintenance costs, an upgrade of the booster to eliminate obsolescence, and incorporate nuclear hardening and lightening protection. The committee further believes that the ground system supporting the GMD system must be improved to incorporate system modernization and upgrades to mitigate obsolescence, improve operations and reliability through re-architecturing, and upgrade the associated software to currently supported language. The committee also notes that the GMD system of 2020 needs to incorporate improved discrimination to address advanced complex threats that the system is most likely to encounter as the threat grows in numbers and complexity. The committee also notes the need to use robust acquisition practices as appropriate to avoid delays and cost increases.
Therefore, the committee directs the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, to provide to the congressional defense committees by February 15, 2016, a roadmap of recommended time-phased improvements that should be incorporated into the GMD program from 2016 to 2025 to ensure the viability of the GMD system paced ahead of the threat to the U.S. homeland from the growing threat of ballistic missiles.
Amendment text can be found here.
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