Dear Members and Friends,
Yesterday, the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces that oversees our Nation’s Missile Defense released its legislative direction for Fiscal Year 2013 Strategic Forces Subcommittee Mark and the United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces held its annual hearing on ballistic missile defense policies and programs: Hearing Webcast. We have provided the links for your information and education.
The ‘Mark’ put forward by the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces is the lead for authorizing the funding by the House Appropriations Committee. The United States Senate follows the same procedure and then conferences with the House to provide a joint agreement that will be given with the entire defense bill for 2013 to the President of the United States for approval.
Highlights of the House ‘Mark’
– U.S. Homeland Defense
– Regional Missile Defense
– European Missile Defense
One of the interesting interactions from the Senate Hearing yesterday included the testimony of Senator Sessions from Alabama questioning the Administration’s reasoning of the value and investment needed for the SM3-2B future missile forward based in Europe at phase 4 of the EPAA that was stated by Deputy Assistant Secretary Brad Roberts to be in place by 2021 and was specifically being placed there for the defense of the United States Homeland. As the U.S. Homeland in certain scenarios does not have a “look shoot look shoot” capability and requires forward basing of additional interceptors, this becomes more apparent with Iran and the intelligent community assessment that Iran could have capability as early as 2015. Senator Sessions ascertained that the third site in Europe for the protection of the United States that was proposed and planed by the previous Administration would have been deployed with a two stage GBI missile that is capable today as validated by LTG O’Reilly in testimony and by a planed date of 2018 validated by Deputy Assistant Secretary Brad Roberts.
“SM3 Block 2B is not developed, not on a assembly line, not ready to be deployed, not a mature technology, we have gone from a bird in the hand for two in the bush…We have gone from a virtual certainty to a very uncertain situation from a politician who handles the money and knowing what we are looking like, that’s what we do, I am uneasy about it frankly.” – Senator Sessions