Sen. Cruz: I Commend President Trump for Prioritizing Missile Defense and Highlighting the Need for Space-Based Interceptors
Cruz-led effort to develop and deploy space-based interceptors included in Missile Defense Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today issued a statement applauding President Trump’s Missile Defense Review (MDR):
“I commend President Trump for recognizing and prioritizing missile defense, and for highlighting the need for space-based interceptors (SBI), in the Missile Defense Review. Past missile defense reviews have failed to consider the technologies that are needed to protect Americans and the American homeland. In the meantime, China and Russia have invested in the development of ballistic missile technology that our existing systems cannot stop, and Iran and North Korea continue to pursue nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“The deployment of SBI is critical to engaging missiles when they are at their most vulnerable stage, ascending at slow velocity with high heat signatures, as well as when they are most resilient, traveling through space with decoys and evasive measures. I look forward to working with my colleagues and President Trump to defend against these threats by developing and eventually deploying SBI.”
Sen. Cruz’s authored a provision in the FY19 NDAA which mandated enactment of provisions directly cited in today’s MDR report. The excerpt is below:
“Much has changed since the United States last considered space-based interceptors in a potential architecture, including major improvements in technologies applicable to spacebasing and directed energy. Given the rapid advancement and diffusion of offensive missile threats and technology, and in response to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), DoD will undertake a new and near-term examination of the concepts and technology for space-based defenses. This examination may include on-orbit experiments and demonstrations. New DoD analysis will evaluate the possible effectiveness of space-based interceptor technologies and their cost-effectiveness when compared to other systems based on land, sea, and in the air. This examination will provide an informed contemporary foundation for assessing the technological and operational potential of space-basing in the evolving security environment.”
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