Lawmakers have agreed to authorize -- over the objections of the Defense Department -- an interim upgrade program of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system that could, if backed by appropriations in fiscal year 2021, divert resources from other Missile Defense Agency priorities and potentially detract from efforts to develop a Next Generation Interceptor. The House-Senate conference bill to authorize defense policy in FY-21 retained a provision originally in the Senate-passed version of the legislation that mandates an "interim" GBI capability...
