http://freebeacon.com/national-secu...te-weaponization-space-block-missile-strikes/
Congress is ordering the Pentagon to immediately begin construction of space-based missile interceptors to counter increasing threats from North Korea, Iran, and other countries with advanced missile technology, according to new legislation viewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
The space-based interceptor program—a plan for the United States to deploy satellites into space capable of destroying ballistic missiles before they even take flight—has been on ice for years due to repeated delays by the Pentagon.
Congressional frustration over the issue has been mounting for some time, leading Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to push a new legislative measure to cut through the red tape and order the Pentagon to immediately begin construction on the advanced missile defense system.
Cruz is the author of an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, a mammoth yearly spending bill that funds American national security priorities, ordering the Pentagon to begin building space-based interceptors within the next year, according to a copy of the measure obtained by the Free Beacon.
The measure alters current legislation on the books to push the Pentagon into beginning work on the project on a more immediate timeframe.
Cruz told the Free Beacon that congressional gridlock handicapped the program for too long.
"The Defense Department has long recognized the benefits of intercepting missiles during their boost phase, including and especially nuclear ICBMs that could be used to threaten the American homeland," Cruz said. "For the last several years, however, partisan division and bureaucratic inertia have prevented us from taking the critical steps to develop this technology, which is necessary to protect the American people from the weapons being stockpiled by our adversaries at this very moment. I was deeply gratified that both Republicans and Democrats joined me in removing these barriers and paving the way for effective space-based missile interceptors."
Cruz has been leading efforts to cut through red tape delaying the program for several years, even petitioning Secretary of Defense James Mattis as recently as February to expedite work on the interceptors.
Congress is ordering the Pentagon to immediately begin construction of space-based missile interceptors to counter increasing threats from North Korea, Iran, and other countries with advanced missile technology, according to new legislation viewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
The space-based interceptor program—a plan for the United States to deploy satellites into space capable of destroying ballistic missiles before they even take flight—has been on ice for years due to repeated delays by the Pentagon.
Congressional frustration over the issue has been mounting for some time, leading Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to push a new legislative measure to cut through the red tape and order the Pentagon to immediately begin construction on the advanced missile defense system.
Cruz is the author of an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, a mammoth yearly spending bill that funds American national security priorities, ordering the Pentagon to begin building space-based interceptors within the next year, according to a copy of the measure obtained by the Free Beacon.
The measure alters current legislation on the books to push the Pentagon into beginning work on the project on a more immediate timeframe.
Cruz told the Free Beacon that congressional gridlock handicapped the program for too long.
"The Defense Department has long recognized the benefits of intercepting missiles during their boost phase, including and especially nuclear ICBMs that could be used to threaten the American homeland," Cruz said. "For the last several years, however, partisan division and bureaucratic inertia have prevented us from taking the critical steps to develop this technology, which is necessary to protect the American people from the weapons being stockpiled by our adversaries at this very moment. I was deeply gratified that both Republicans and Democrats joined me in removing these barriers and paving the way for effective space-based missile interceptors."
Cruz has been leading efforts to cut through red tape delaying the program for several years, even petitioning Secretary of Defense James Mattis as recently as February to expedite work on the interceptors.