Sec. 1667. Ground-based midcourse defense interim capability
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It is the sense of Congress that— the nuclear and ballistic missile threats from rogue nations are increasing; and the Department of Defense should fully assess development of an interim ground-based missile defense capability while also pursuing the development of a next generation interceptor capability. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Missile Defense Agency and in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Commander of the United States Northern Command, and the Commander of the United States Strategic Command, shall commence carrying out a program to develop an interim ground-based interceptor capability that will— use sound acquisition practices; address the majority of current and near- to mid-term projected ballistic missile threats to the United States homeland from rogue nations; at minimum, meet the proposed capabilities of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle program; leverage existing kill vehicle and booster technology; and appropriately balance interceptor performance with schedule of delivery.
The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Missile Defense Agency and in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Commander of the United States Northern Command, and the Commander of the United States Strategic Command, shall— conduct rigorous flight testing of the interim ground-based interceptor; and deliver 20 new ground-based interceptors by 2026. The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirements under paragraphs
(1)and
(2)if the Secretary certifies to the congressional defense committees that— the technology development is not technically feasible; the interim capability development is not in the national security interest of the United States; or the next generation interceptor for the ground-based midcourse defense system can deliver capability before the program otherwise required by this subsection. If the Secretary chooses to waive the requirements under paragraphs
(1)and (2), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees along with the certification required by subparagraph
(A)of this paragraph— an explanation of the rationale for the decision; an estimate of projected rogue nation threats to the United States homeland that will not be defended against until the fielding of the next generation interceptor for the ground-based midcourse defense system; and an updated schedule for development and deployment of the next generation interceptor. The Secretary may not delegate the certification described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)unless the Secretary is recused, in which case the Secretary may delegate such certification to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The Director shall ensure that the interim ground-based interceptor developed under subsection (c)(1) meets, at a minimum, the following capabilities and criteria: Vehicle-to-vehicle communications, as applicable. Vehicle-to-ground communications. Kill assessment capability. The ability to counter advanced counter measures, decoys, and penetration aids. Producibility and manufacturability. Use of technology involving high technology readiness levels. Options to integrate the new kill vehicle onto other missile defense interceptor vehicles other than the ground-based interceptors of the ground-based midcourse defense system. Sound acquisition processes. The Director shall include with the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the budget of the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2022 (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code) a report on the funding profile necessary for the interim ground-based interceptor program to meet the objectives under subsection (c).