Sec. 250. Independent study on threats to United States national security from development of hypersonic weapons by foreign nations
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Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into a contract with a federally funded research and development center under which the center will conduct a study on the development of hypersonic weapons capabilities by foreign nations and the threat posed by such capabilities to United States territory, forces and overseas bases, and allies. The study required under subsection
(a)shall— describe the hypersonic weapons capabilities in development in the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and other nations; assess the proliferation risk that nations that develop hypersonic weapons capabilities might transfer this technology to other nations; attempt to describe the rationale for why each nation that is developing hypersonic weapons capabilities is undertaking such development; and examine the unique threats created to United States national security by hypersonic weapons due to both their maneuverability and speed, distinguishing between hypersonic glide vehicles delivered by rocket boosters (known as boost-glide systems) and hypersonic cruise missiles, and further distinguishing between longer-range systems that can reach United States territory and shorter or medium range systems that might be used in a regional conflict. Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the federally funded research and development center that conducts the study under subsection
(a)shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report on the results of the study in both classified and unclassified form. Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense receives the report under subsection (c), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees an unaltered copy of the report in both classified and unclassified form, and any comments of the Secretary with respect to the report.