20250430: STR Committee Hearing: Missile Defense & Missile Defeat Programmatic Updates
House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
2025-04-30
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Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
M
Ms. Andrea Yaffe
and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify on the Department of Defense's missile defense and defeat posture. I am grateful to appear alongside my distinguished colleagues. Missile defenses are a vital element of our strategic force posture, both as a means of deterrence as well as defending the U.S. homeland and our security interests abroad. As we see nearly every day in conflicts worldwide, offensive missile capabilities are becoming a central feature of modern warfare. China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran now deploy advanced missile systems to coerce and intimidate opponents, inflict tactical damage, or to carry out strategic campaigns. Our adversaries are investing in the next generation of offensive capabilities to hold the United States homeland at risk, coerce our allies and partners, and threaten our deployed forces. China, Russia and North Korea are fielding more advanced missiles with greater ranges and in larger numbers to provide the means for strategic level attack against the homeland, including nuclear and conventional options. These adversaries are rapidly modernizing, expanding and diversifying their missile forces, incorporating technological advances into warheads, delivery systems of all types and supporting command and control systems. Iran, meanwhile, has the capability to strike targets throughout the Middle East and continues to arm its proxies in the region. The president's Golden Dome for America executive order underscores this point. The threat of attack by ballistic hypersonic and cruise missiles and other advanced aerial attacks remain the most catastrophic threat facing the United States. To counter these growing threats, we need next generation missile defense and missile defeat architectures that can complement our existing nuclear and conventional offensive capabilities. The president has directed that the United States will develop and field a next generation missile defense shield to provide for the common defense of our citizens in the nation and deter, defend against and defeat any foreign aerial attack on the homeland.
M
Ms. Andrea Yaffe
We will also guarantee our secure second strike capability. Golden Dome is a top priority for the nation and will include the development of cutting-edge domain awareness systems, kinetic and non-kinetic missile defeat capabilities, and advanced command control and battle management systems to integrate and augment existing U.S. missile defense capabilities. The Department of Defense remains committed to making the necessary investments in our posture to deter our adversaries and, if deterrence fails, to prevail in conflict. The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy is working together across the department, including with my colleagues here today, to make good on these investments to defend our homeland and our forces. Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward to answering your questions.
Thank you, General Gill. You're recognized. Good afternoon, Chairman Desjardins, ranking member Moulton, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank you for holding this important hearing. Both North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Northern Command have critical roles in defending North America from missile attack, and we appreciate the subcommittee's continued support of our efforts.
G
General Gregory Guillot
I'd also like to recognize the tremendous work being done by Lieutenant General Collins, Lieutenant General Ganey, and ASD Yaffe. As the supported commands for homeland missile defense, NORAD and NORTHCOM are fortunate to have such strong and committed partners in our shared, no-fail mission. Defending North America from missile threats is increasingly challenging as global competitors rapidly develop and field advanced missile capabilities and delivery platforms, aided by increasing cooperation and technology sharing between the competitors. To counter such adversary cooperation, NORAD and NORTHCOM rely on realistic planning, targeted investments, timely deliveries, and forward-looking policies that ensure the command's ability to detect, track, and defeat potential threats in all domains. Establishing a layered domain awareness network to detect and track threats approaching North America from seabed to space remains our top priority because you can't defeat what you can't see. That network is central to the current and future NORAD and NORTHCOM requirements, which certainly include Golden Dome for America construct. Along with improved domain awareness, we must also improve our capability and capacity to defeat missile threats. On-time delivery of the next generation interceptor is necessary to counter North Korea's growing ICBM fleet. And innovation and investment in advanced defeat mechanisms, which could include directed energy, left of launch, and boost phase intercept, are needed to defeat cruise missiles, hypersonics, and other advanced threats. There are significant challenges ahead of us, but NORAD and NORTHCOM's capability and resolve to deter aggression and defeat threats to our nation remains unshakable. Thank you again to the subcommittee and my fellow witnesses for your continued support. I look forward to your questions. We have the watch.
Thank you, sir. General Collins. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman Desjardins, Ranking Member Moulton, distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank you for this opportunity to talk about missile defense. And thank you for your continued support of missile defense and the broader missile defense enterprise. The Missile Defense Agency is moving quickly to provide effective defenses against a dangerous missile threat to defend the U.S. homeland, our deployed forces, and our allies and friends. The agency is transforming itself, its enterprise, and its industry base in order to develop and deliver capabilities to the warfighter at speed and scale. As we move with urgency to deliver the next generation missile defense system, we intend to leverage the performance efficiencies found in an integrated, layered missile defense. We also will continue to exploit the space domain to support a missile defense posture that is more effective, resilient, and adaptable to known and anticipated threats. MDA is laser-focused on improving our U.S. homeland defenses. We are enhancing the performance and capability of the fielded ground-based midcourse defense system, along with developing and testing of the new next-gen interceptor. In support of regional defense, we are working with the Navy to improve Aegis ballistic missile defense capability and enhance hypersonic defenses, and with the Army to make investments in the future development of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, THAAD. In support of the nation's missile defense enterprise, Golden Dome for America, and reestablishing deterrence, MDA remains focused on delivering advanced, reliable, and resilient capabilities on accelerated timelines to meet the warfighter's need.
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