Defense News:
The National Defense Authorization Act that has emerged from conference negotiations would add $30 million for the planning and design of an East Coast missile defense site and speed up its possible deployment, a victory for some congressional Republicans who have long fought for traction to move forward with the possible project.
Language in the House and Senate conference report released Tuesday would require the Missile Defense Agency director to choose a “preferred location” in the US for the “potential” future deployment of an additional missile defense site no later than 30 days after the publication of the draft environmental impact statements being conducted for possible locations.
The draft impact studies are expected to be complete by January 2016 and finalized between April and July, according to the NDAA conference report.
The four possible sites are Fort Drum in New York, the SERE Training Area at Naval Air Station in Maine, the Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan and the Camp Ravenna Joint Training Center in Ohio.
Should the NDAA become law, it would also require the defense secretary to submit a plan — no later than 30 days after the impact statements are released — to expedite the deployment time for a potential third site by at least two years.
The Pentagon should pinpoint a potential third site based on the environmental impact statements and also on operational and cost effectiveness, the conference report states.
The comptroller general would then have 90 days to assess the plan and issue a report on findings and recommendations…
