Defense News – Senate authorizers would transfer responsibility of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) from the Missile Defense Agency to the Army, according to an executive summary of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal year 2020 defense authorization bill.
The bill’s full text has not yet been released, but the summary states that all funds for THAAD’s procurement and sustainment would be transitioned from MDA to the Army.
Additionally, the committee “encourages” the Army to request funding to buy the eighth and ninth batteries in the next budget cycle. The service has only funded and built the first seven batteries and, while the requirement for nine batteries has remained for years, the final two have never been funded in order to reach that threshold.
