09.26.17

General Dunford: Missile Defense Increase “Warranted”

WASHINGTON, DC – In an exchange today with U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) during a hearing of the Senate Armed Service Committee, General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, voiced his support for the increase in homeland missile defense spearheaded by Senator Sullivan in the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including the addition of up to 20 new ground-based interceptors to Fort Greely, Alaska.

“Over the last seven or eight weeks, we did a very detailed look at increasing ballistic missile defense capability for the North Korean threat…and we do think an increase is warranted,” said General Dunford.

General Dunford also said the Department of Defense supports the missile defense provisions in the NDAA, including the increase of 20 additional interceptors.

Senator Sullivan pressed General Dunford on the need for further advancements in U.S. missile defense beyond the FY 2018 NDAA authorization. 

“The administration views a much more robust missile defense as a key part of our strategy with regard to rogue nations that are trying to acquire intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles,” said Senator Sullivan. “You mentioned the NDAA does a lot, but I think there's more that we should be doing. Does the administration have plans to, at least from a supplemental perspective, beef up our missile defense?”

“What you have outlined in the NDAA, combined with the supplemental that the administration has put together, will meet the immediate needs, but we need a long-term strategic approach to missile defense,” General Dunford replied. “I know you’ve received some of the classified briefings on the adaptations of the threat, which means our ballistic missile defense capabilities also need to adapt.”

During the hearing, Senator Sullivan also asked about a potential Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for a pre-emptive ground war.

“If one of the [military] options was a pre-emptive ground war on the Korean Peninsula…my view is that it would require an AUMF from the Congress. Would you agree with that?” asked Senator Sullivan. 

General Dunford responded, “In the scenario you are describing, I would want to have the full-throated support of the American people in the form of Congress…If we’re going to conduct a major war, then having the full support of the American people…is something we need to have.”

Earlier this year, Senator Sullivan introduced S.1196, the Advancing America’s Missile Defense (AAMD) Act. Senator Sullivan’s missile defense amendment to the NDAA – like the AAMD Act – includes an increase of up to 28 ground-based interceptors (GBIs). This is the second largest GBI capacity increase ever, and up to 20 of these GBIs are slated to go to Fort Greely, Alaska. The amendment also includes language to help jump-start silo construction at Fort Greely and calls for a report analyzing the potential for up to 104 GBIs distributed across the U.S. In addition, as a part of $630 million in added funding for the Missile Defense Agency, Senator Sullivan also worked to secure an additional $27.5 million to begin the development of new space-based missile defense sensor technologies.

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