Washington Examiner:
Military leaders would have to give Congress a plan to protect Hawaii against North Korean missiles before spending additional money for new defensive radar, according to a new bill unveiled in the House this week.
The House Armed Services bill provides $42 million to develop and test discrimination radar for homeland missile defense. But before any contracts are awarded, the U.S. Pacific Command and the Missile Defense Agency would be required to submit to lawmakers “both a certification and a plan concerning the use of existing ballistic defense assets for the defense of Hawaii.”
The language is in an early version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is headed to an Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, and comes as concerns about Hawaii defense are on the arise amid numerous North Korea missile tests.
Navy Adm. Harry Harris, the chief of U.S. Pacific Command, warned Congress in April Kim Jong Un’s regime was threatening the state with its burgeoning missile program and said interceptors should be placed there.
Use of the money in the House bill would also be tied to development of the Standard Missile 3 block IIA interceptor, or SM-3, which is currently being developed by the Missile Defense Agency…
