Third GMD site tab now $5 billion, Austin seeks mandate be stripped from final bill

By Jason Sherman / October 3, 2024 at 2:45 PM
The Defense Department is lobbying Congress to drop a legislative provision that could force the Pentagon to construct a third homeland missile defense site -- and spend an estimated $5 billion, 25% higher than prior estimates, on a project that lacks a validated operational need. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is asking lawmakers negotiating a final version of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill to strip a House-passed statutory mandate for an East Coast national missile defense location by the...

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