Congress has called on the Missile Defense Agency to advance the development of a space-based sensor system and intercept layer designed to build up the country’s ballistic missile defense capability through the fiscal year 2019 defense budget compromise, Defense News reported Sunday.The conference report on the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act directs MDA to develop and ensure compatibility of its space-based sensor platform with that of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The negotiated FY 2019 NDAA would lessen the House’s proposed funding restriction for the sensor architecture to 15 percent.
The report said the compromise measure would also require MDA to build an intercept layer for ballistic missiles regardless of recommendations in the upcoming Missile Defense Review.
