Missile Defense

The Space Force announced today it has reached an agreement with SpaceX to launch two future GPS III missions with previously flown boosters -- the first National Security Space Launch missions to fly with a re-used first stage.

Boeing today disclosed that it is teamed with General Atomics and Aerojet Rocketdyne for the Next Generation Interceptor, offering what a company official said is "freshness" to the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system modernization competition by pulling in two established defense industry suppliers that haven't previously had high-profile, missile defense accounts.

An influential Pentagon advisory board is recommending the United States be "more aggressive" with adversaries like China and Russia in non-military "Gray Zone" conflicts that require new capabilities, especially in the cyber realm.

The Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system being eyed to bolster protection of Guam could potentially be armed for strike missions to offset China's current ballistic and cruise missile advantage against U.S. forces, according to the top U.S. military official in the region.

The House has filed a stopgap continuing resolution that would extend the period by which contractors can be reimbursed for remaining in a "ready state" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trump administration is balking at four missile defense provisions advanced by the Senate Armed Services Committee's mark of the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill, asking lawmakers to reconsider a funding cut and increase to the Next Generation Interceptor and Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii programs, respectively.

The White House has sent the Senate Armed Services Committee a list of provisions in the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill it does not like, but chose to lead with one President Trump has said would make him veto the entire must-pass bill -- the re-naming of U.S. military bases that currently honor Confederate leaders.

China's military modernization -- particularly development of its strategic forces -- is driving the U.S. military to begin preparing for the advent of Beijing as a nuclear competitor on par with Russia, a development that will require a different deterrence strategy from the playbook the Defense Department has long maintained to counter Moscow, according to a senior U.S. military official.

Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies are pitching a Next-Generation Interceptor design backed by what they say are engineering teams with unparallel experience knocking down targets in space and knowledge of today's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system -- promising a unified, "seamless" corporate team to deliver a new booster and kill vehicle as if from a single company.