[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 435 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 435
To improve the missile defense capabilities of the United States, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 5, 2025
Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the missile defense capabilities of the United States, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Increasing Response Options and
Deterrence of Missile Engagements Act of 2025'' or the ``IRONDOME Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF THE SENATE.
(a) Findings.--
(1) Missile defense review.--Congress finds that the 2022
Missile Defense Review found the following:
(A) Since the release of the 2019 Missile Defense
Review, missile-related threats have rapidly expanded
in quantity, diversity, and sophistication.
(B) United States national security interests are
increasingly at risk from wide-ranging missile arsenals
that include offensive ballistic, cruise, and
hypersonic weapons.
(C) In support of the homeland missile defense
mission, continued modernization and expansion of the
Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system will remain
an essential element of our comprehensive missile
defeat approach. In addition, the United States will
also continue to improve defensive capabilities to
address the threat of evolving cruise missile strikes
by any adversary against the homeland.
(D) The continued evolution and progress of
missiles as a principal means by which adversaries seek
to project conventional or nuclear military power makes
missile defense a core deterrence-by-denial component
of an integrated deterrence strategy.
(E) Missile defense capabilities add resilience and
undermine adversary confidence in missile use by
introducing doubt and uncertainty into strike planning
and execution, reducing the incentive to conduct small-
scale coercive attacks, decreasing the probability of
attack success, and raising the threshold of conflict.
(2) Congressional commission on the strategic posture of
the united states.--Congress finds that, in its October 2023
report, the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture
of the United States recommended the following:
(A) The United States should develop and field
homeland integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) that
can deter and defeat coercive attacks by Russia and
China, and determine the capabilities needed to stay
ahead of the North Korean threat.
(B) The Secretary of Defense should direct
research, development, test and evaluation into
advanced integrated air and missile defense
capabilities leveraging all domains, including land,
sea, air, and space. These activities should focus on
sensor architectures, integrated command and control,
interceptors, cruise and hypersonic missile defenses,
and area or point defenses. The Department of Defense
should urgently pursue deployment of any capabilities
that prove feasible.
(C) The Secretary and the military departments
should transfer operations and sustainment
responsibility for missile defense to the appropriate
military departments by October 1, 2024, to allow the
Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to focus on research,
development, prototyping, and testing.
(3) Commission on the national defense strategy.--Congress
finds the following:
(A) In its July 2024 report, the Commission on the
National Defense Strategy found the following:
(i) There is an increasing threat from
expanding ability of China, Russia, and North
Korea to deliver nuclear weapons against the
United States, including the territories of the
United States.
(ii) The military planners of the
Department of Defense and United States
Northern Command need to prepare for a worst-
case scenario in which nuclear and other
strikes are launched against the United States,
which could be done in large numbers with
specialized delivery systems.
(B) In the report described in subparagraph (A),
the Commission shared the same threat assessment about
missile attacks as the Commission on the Strategic
Posture of the United States and agreed with the
recommendation that the United States should enhance
missile defense for the homeland.
(4) Policy.--Congress finds that it is the policy of the
Federal Government that--
(A) the Federal Government will provide for the
common defense of the citizens of the United States and
the United States by deploying and maintaining a next-
generation missile defense shield;
(B) the Federal Government will deter and defend
the citizens and critical infrastructure of the United
States against any foreign attack on the United States
homeland; and
(C) the Federal Government will guarantee the
secure second-strike capability of the Federal
Government.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the threat of attack by ballistic, cruise, and
hypersonic missiles remains a catastrophic threat facing the
United States and defense against it is a form of both national
security and border security;
(2) China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its
conventional forces to include ballistic missile systems posing
an increasing threat to citizens, forces, and allies of the
United States;
(3) over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the
threat from next-generation strategic weapons, including
hypersonic, has become more complex with the development of
next-generation delivery systems by adversaries of the United
States;
(4) notwithstanding this increasing threat, homeland
missile defense policy of the United States has been severely
limited to staying ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental
or unauthorized missile launches;
(5) by empowering the United States with a second-strike
capability, the Iron Dome will deter adversaries from attacks
on the homeland;
(6) the midcourse defense system is the primary system
capable of defending the United States homeland from long-range
ballistic missile threats and is critical to our national
security;
(7) the Next Generation Interceptor is a top priority for
the Missile Defense Agency and a critical element to increasing
system reliability to build warfighter competence; and
(8) the United States must gain and maintain total domain
awareness to provide early warning and defeat of missile
threats from both the northern and southern hemispheres and
from outer space.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Congressional defense committees.--The term
``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Defense.
SEC. 4. IMPROVING UNITED STATES MISSILE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES.
(a) Plan for Transfer of Operations and Sustainment of Missile
Defense to the Military Departments.--
(1) Plan required.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a multi-year phased plan to transfer operations and
sustainment responsibility for missile defense from the Missile
Defense Agency to the appropriate military departments to allow
the Missile Defense Agency to focus on research, development,
and prototyping and testing.
(2) Execution of plan.--The Secretary shall execute the
plan submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) pursuant to a specific
authorization of such plan enacted after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Middle-Tier Acquisition Program for Drone-Based Missile Threat
Audio Detection System.--The Commander of United States Northern
Command shall use a process for conducting a middle tier acquisition
described in section 3602 of title 10, United States Code, as added by
section 804 of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law
118-159), for rapid fielding and prototyping of a drone-based network
for both forward deployed armed forces and homeland defense capable of
detecting through audio sensing technology the approach of advanced
missiles, including advanced cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles.
(c) Middle-Tier Acquisition Program for Proliferated Warfighter
Space Architecture of Space Development Agency.--The Director of the
Space Development Agency shall use a process for conducting a middle
tier acquisition described in section 3602 of title 10, United States
Code, as added by section 804 of the Servicemember Quality of Life
Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025
(Public Law 118-159), for rapid fielding of satellites and associated
systems for tranches 3, 4, and 5 of the proliferated warfighter space
architecture of the Agency.
(d) Requirement for Next Generation Interceptor Fielding and Silo
Construction.--The Secretary shall take such actions as may be
necessary to expand Next Generation Interceptor production and silo
construction at Fort Greely, Alaska, to field a minimum of 80
interceptors at Fort Greely for defense of the United States to be
completed not later than January 1, 2038.
(e) Requirement for Combatant Commands To Account for Missile
Defense Interceptors and Sensor Requirements in Their Annual
Requests.--For each fiscal year beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act, each commander of a combatant command shall
include the missile defense interceptor requirements, terrestrial-based
sensor requirements, and space-based sensor requirements of the
combatant command of the commander in the supporting information for
the Department of Defense submitted along with the budget of the
President to Congress for such fiscal year pursuant to section 1105(a)
of title 31, United States Code.
(f) Accelerating Development of Glide Phase Interceptor.--
(1) Use of authorities to accelerate development.--The
Secretary shall use all authorities available to the Secretary
to accelerate development of the Glide Phase Interceptor to
defend against hypersonic threats to the United States
homeland.
(2) Report on potential for parallel development.--Not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency shall submit to
the Secretary a report on the potential for parallel
development of capabilities, revised program schedule, and the
risk associated with pursuing only one alternative for the
Glide Phase Interceptor.
(g) Accelerating Production and Fielding of Terminal High Altitude
Area Defense System.--The Secretary shall use all authorities available
to the Secretary to accelerate the production and fielding of the
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system (including AN/TPY-2
radars) for forward deployment and homeland defense as the Secretary
and President consider appropriate.
(h) Accelerating Development of Autonomous Agents To Defend Against
Cruise Missiles and Drones.--The Secretary shall use all authorities
available to the Secretary to accelerate development of autonomous
agents to cost-effectively defend the United States homeland and
forward-deployed armed forces against raids of both large cruise
missiles and drones.
(i) Accelerating Development and Deployment of Space-Based
Interceptors.--The Secretary shall use all authorities available to the
Secretary to accelerate development and deployment of proliferated
space-based interceptors capable of boost-phase intercept.
(j) Report To Reduce Cost Savings Per Round for Space-Based
Interceptors.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit a feasibility study
to the congressional defense committees outlining multiple methods for
reducing the cost per round of various space-based interceptors
including kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities.
(k) Accelerating Modernization of Certain Terrestrial Domain
Capabilities.--The Secretary shall use all authorities available to the
Secretary to accelerate modernization of terrestrial-based radar
capabilities, including those located at or known as Cobra Dane, Thule
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), Upgraded Early Warning
Radar (UEWR) in Greenland and Cape Cod, Homeland Defense Radar in
Hawaii, and the Alaska Radar System.
(l) Modernization of Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack
Characterization System.--The Secretary shall use all authorities
available to the Secretary to accelerate the modernization and
digitization of the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization
System (PARCS) to improve detection of intercontinental and sea-
launched missile threats, as well as improve space domain awareness
capabilities.
(m) Site Selection and Program Execution Plan for Southern
Hemisphere-Facing Early Warning Radar System.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit
to Congress a report detailing a site selection and proposed program
execution plan for a southern hemisphere-facing early warning radar
system capable of detecting threats from next generation complex
missile attacks.
(n) Site Selection and Program Execution Plan for Construction of
East Coast-Based Aegis Ashore System.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report detailing a site selection and proposed program
execution plan for an east coast-based Aegis Ashore missile defense
system.
(o) Site Selection and Program Execution Plan for Construction of
Alaska-Based Aegis Ashore System.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report detailing a site selection and proposed program
execution plan for an Alaska-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system.
(p) Completion and Certification of Aegis Ashore System in
Hawaii.--The Secretary shall use all authorities available to the
Secretary to accelerate completion and certification of an Aegis Ashore
system based in Hawaii.
(q) Acceleration of Munitions Production for Missile Defense.--The
Secretary shall use all authorities available to the Secretary to
accelerate production of critical munitions used for missile
interception, including Standard Missile 3 Blocks IB and IIA and PAC-2
and PAC-3 munitions.
(r) Expedited Military Construction Authority.--
(1) Waiver of regulations.--The Secretary may waive any and
all regulations, including environmental regulations, that the
Secretary determines would slow down, impede, block, or
otherwise hinder the construction, upgrade, or modernization of
infrastructure supporting a Joint Urgent Operational Need
(JUON) associated with homeland or forward deployed missile
defense.
(2) Congressional notice.--Whenever the Secretary uses the
authority provided by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, not
later than 45 days after using the authority, submit to the
congressional defense committees notice of such use.
(s) Acceleration of Integrated Air and Missile Defense Technology
Exchanges.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, in collaboration with
the Secretary of State, look for and exploit opportunities to
accelerate technology exchanges and transfers of integrated
missile defense technology, including over the horizon radar
with trusted allies under current defense agreements and
arrangements.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to require the Secretary to exchange technology
with a foreign country if the President or the Secretary
determines that doing so would present a grave national
security threat to the United States.
(t) Development and Securing of Supply Chains Critical to Missile
Defense.--The Secretary shall, in collaboration with the Secretary of
State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior,
identify critical shortages and vulnerabilities in supply chains
critical to missile defense component production and shall use all
authorities available to the Secretaries to develop and secure such
supply chains.
(u) Requirement for Procurement and Fielding of Dirigibles To
Support Missile Defense.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Army shall procure
and field dirigibles, including airships and aerostats, in
support of the missile defense of the United States homeland
from ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and drones.
(2) Requirements.--The requirements of paragraph (1)
cover--
(A) high altitude air defense systems to detect,
characterize, track, and engage current and emerging
advanced missile threats; and
(B) both short-term and long-term solutions that
leverage the innovative dirigible and associated sensor
development that the Armed Forces, partners of the
United States, such as Israel, and United States
industry have undertaken during the 30-year period
ending on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) Consideration.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary of the Army shall consider the use of dirigibles in
supporting resilient military and emergency communication
networks in a crisis.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
$19,548,100,000 for fiscal year 2026, of which--
(1) $500,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to SM-3 Block 1B;
(2) $500,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to SM-3 Block IIA;
(3) $1,400,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD) Systems;
(4) $1,500,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to PAC-2 and PAC-3 Munitions and MM-104
Patriot batteries;
(5) $1,000,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to east coast and Alaska-based Aegis Ashore
station construction;
(6) $12,000,000,000 shall be available for expansion of
missile interceptor fields available at Fort Greely, Alaska, to
80 units with the Next Generation Interceptor;
(7) $250,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to completion and certification of Hawaii
Aegis Ashore system;
(8) $60,000,000 shall be available for requirements of this
Act relating to Space Development Agency satellite sensors;
(9) $750,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to modernization of terrestrial-based domain
awareness radars;
(10) $500,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to research and development relating to
directed energy or missile interception across the military
departments;
(11) $900,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to research and development of space based
missile defense;
(12) $63,100,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to Missile Defense Complex (MDC) and Fire
Team Readiness Facility (FTRF);
(13) $100,000,000 shall be available for requirements of
this Act relating to procurement and fielding of dirigibles;
and
(14) $25,000,000 shall be available for Missile Defense
Agency military construction to continue planning and design
activities for an east coast missile defense interceptor site.
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