Congress provides $130 million for hypersonic missile warning satellites
Nathan Strout
WASHINGTON — Congress increased the Missile Defense Agency’s budget by $130 million to fund a new satellite constellation capable of tracking hypersonic weapons.
A satellites in low Earth orbit will provide targeting data for hypersonic weapons that are dimmer than traditional ballistics and can maneuver in flight, plugging a massive hole in the U.S. missile warning architecture.
Lawmakers, who approved the appropriations package Dec. 21 by a majority wide enough to overcome a veto hinted at by President Donald Trump, had expressed concern throughout the year that the agency’s budget does not include any funding to develop the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS). While MDA leadership did ask Congress to fund the constellation, seeking $108 million for HBTSS in its unfunded priority list, legislators communicated their confusion about why such a high priority program was not included in the agency’s actual budget request.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/12/23/congress-provides-130-million-for-hypersonic-missile-warning-satellites/
