WASHINGTON, D.C. – Led by Chairman Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Ranking Member Mike Turner (R-OH), the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces today released their proposals for the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Subcommittee will meet at 1:00pm ET on Monday, June 22 in Rayburn 2118.  The markup will be live streamed on the committee’s website. The Subcommittee's mark is available here. 
 
Specifically, this year's proposal:
 
Nuclear Deterrence/Non-proliferation
  • Requires that the President participate in at least one nuclear command and control exercise per term.
  • Requires an unclassified independent assessment of foreign nuclear weapons capabilities and extends required intelligence assessment.
  • Requires reports on:
    • Plans in the event of delays to nuclear modernization; and
    • Planning for the nuclear complex and enterprise.
 
Missile Defense
  • Supports the Department’s request for U.S./Israel missile defense cooperation, encourages continued exchange of technical data for the potential U.S. use of Israeli missile defense systems, and allows the Secretary of Defense to expand current missile defense collaboration with Israel to include directed energy research and development.
  • Requires a notification to Congress for any changes to requirements of the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program, and a report on addressing an interim solution for the Ground Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system while MDA develops and delivers NGI in the late 2020-timeframe.
  • Continues to mandate and support a space sensor layer that is capable of tracking both advanced ballistic and hypersonic missile threats.
  • Addresses the Department of Defense request to modify regional missile defense systems, particularly the Aegis BMD and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems, by requiring an analysis of alternatives be conducted that identifies the entire architecture of sensors, command and control, and weapon systems needed to conduct layered defense. Requires DoD to give preference, as practicable, to sites with existing missile defense related environmental impact statements.
  • Directs the Secretary of Defense to evaluate the alignment of the Missile Defense Agency under the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, requiring a report from the Secretary of Defense on what steps would need to be taken to realign MDA to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.
  • Requires reports on:
    • Plans for improving discrimination capability for missile defense in light of the cancelation of the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii and the Pacific Radar; and
    • Efforts to deliver a boost-phase capability, particularly in light of cutting all funding for Missile Defense Agency directed energy programs.
 
Hypersonics
  • Requires the Secretary of the Navy to initiate integration efforts for conventional prompt strike on surface-ship platforms to address miscalculation and ambiguity concerns and provides funding to do so. Further requires the Joint Staff and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy to address operational control, risks of escalation and miscalculation, and how targeting will be determined for strategic hypersonic conventional prompt strike weapons. 
 
National Security and Space
  • Continues to press for enhancing resilience of precision, navigation and timing capabilities by continuing oversight of the establishment and implementation of a program to prototype an M-code based, multi-global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver that would incorporate both allied and non-allied, trusted and open GNSS signals to increase the resilience and capability of military positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) equipment.
  • Requires the Space Force to procure commercial Space Domain Awareness (SDA) services, and fences funding until these commercial services are procured.
  • Requires reports on:
    • Cislunar space capabilities; and
    • Space Development Agency plans to procure commercial services.