Congress will authorize the Defense Department secretary to raise the number of ground-based interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Fort Greely in Alaska by up to 28 in an effort to counter missile threats posed by Iran and North Korea, Defense News reported Friday.The fiscal 2018 defense policy bill’s congressional conference report would also direct the DoD secretary to create a draft plan for future GBI capacity at any location determined in the ballistic missile defense review that is set to be released by the end of the year.
The report noted that existing missile fields could accommodate 104 GBIs and that the Pentagon should carry out construction work to ensure that existing missile fields can support additional interceptors.
DoD should submit within 90 days of the review’s release a report on alternatives to boost the capability of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense platform and meet infrastructure needs to raise the number of GBIs across the country, the conference report added.
