Missile Defense

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) says he is trying to position the fiscal year 2020 defense authorization bill to engage not only Republicans in the Senate, where the GOP has a majority ready to fight for higher spending and resist restrictions on nuclear weapons, but also members of his own caucus in the House, where Democratic leaders have increasingly been at odds with the party's progressive wing.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) has set a $733 billion topline for total defense spending in his mark of the fiscal year 2020 defense authorization bill, blocking all Pentagon funding for President Trump’s border wall and putting the panel at odds with the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has approved $750 billion, according to a copy of the "chairman's mark" obtained by Inside Defense.

The Defense Department is rebaselining the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system acquisition effort, consolidating it into what is now called THAAD III from a pair of parallel development efforts to continue improving the Army-operated system -- a change that reflects recent upgrades to counter North Korean ballistic missile threats.

The Pentagon continues to wrestle with challenges and internal disagreements resulting from seismic congressional reforms that restructured its acquisition oversight process and gave the military services more direct control over major programs, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

The Pentagon is investigating how it might use rapid acquisition authorities to ensure access to critical minerals vital for powering major weapons and communications systems should China and Russia disrupt U.S. supply chains, according to a new Trump administration report.

Republicans on the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee failed to strip controversial nuclear weapons provisions from the panel's fiscal year 2020 defense policy bill today, as the Democratic majority voted the legislation through to the full committee.

The nominees to lead U.S. Space Command and the National Reconnaissance Office today emphasized the strong relationship between the Defense Department and the intelligence community and committed to maintaining and improving that relationship moving forward.

House lawmakers want the Defense Department to provide a report on the risks and benefits of using both producers of large solid-rocket motors to develop its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.

House lawmakers are proposing a measure to halt funding for development of a submarine-launched hypersonic strike weapon, a move that would upend Navy plans to develop a Conventional Prompt Strike weapon, citing concerns about the potential for miscalculation by adversaries that might mistake the planned new capability for a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile.