Sullivan, Cramer Introduce IRON DOME Act to Defend Against Chinese, Russian Missile Threats

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today introduced theIncreasing Response Options and Deterrence of Missile Engagements (IRON DOME) Act, legislation to strengthen and expand the U.S. missile defense system to protect the entire country from increasing nuclear missile threats posed by America’s adversaries. TheIRON DOME Actwill enhance domain awareness, the eyes and ears of missile defense architecture; bolster U.S. missile defense capacity to meet peer and near-peer threats; and accelerate the development of new capabilities to counter future threats. The legislation is intended to work in concert with President Trump’s executive order, “Iron Dome for America.”
“For decades, American missile defense strategy has focused on protecting our country from ballistic missile threats posed by rogue nations or accidental launches from a peer nation,”said Sen. Sullivan. “We’ve made significant progress in recent years to strengthen this capability, notably through the implementation of my bipartisan 2017 Advancing America’s Missile Defense Act. But the proliferation of new hypersonic and cruise missile threats from our adversaries demands that we change this paradigm. Senator Cramer and I are introducing legislation to build a homeland missile defense system that can protect our country from the intensifying threats and growing arsenals of China and Russia. The IRON DOME Act dovetails with and reinforces President Trump’s historic ‘Iron Dome for America’ EO and builds upon a number of the recommendations from the 2022 Missile Defense Review. Specifically, our legislation invests billions of dollars to develop new capabilities, like space-based sensors and new intercept technologies, significantly expand and modernize existing infrastructure, like the ground-based missile interceptor fields at Alaska’s Fort Greely and North Dakota’s PARCS radar system, and integrate all aspects of U.S. missile defense, including Aegis. I urge my colleagues to join us in this initiative to meet the evolving missile threats on the horizon and deliver greater security for all Americans.”
“Now more than ever, we have to ensure the United States is properly equipped to address the pressing threats that are posed by our very capable adversaries,”said Sen. Cramer.“Protecting the homeland is obviously our first Constitutional duty. The IRON DOME Act forces modernization of our missile defense systems from Alaska to North Dakota to Maine to Florida to California and back up to Alaska. This will ensure that we’re never caught off guard from a modern missile attack on our homeland.”
Among other provisions, theIRON DOME Actwould authorize:
Most of Sen. Sullivan’s 2017 legislation, theAdvancing America’s Missile Defense Act,was included as an amendment to theFY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which significantly bolstered America’s homeland missile defense system and became law in December 2017.
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