Congress passed a continuing resolution that extends the federal budget until January 19, which included $4.7 billion for missile defense-related spending. Lawmakers provided few details on the projects that money will be spent on, but the numbers appear to match the emergency request from the Pentagon in November. For example, the bill includes $884 million for Army projects “to detect, defeat, and defend against the use of ballistic missiles.” Service leaders requested in November that same amount for 147 PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, upgrades to Patriot launchers and ATACMS missiles. The Navy and Air Force also received funds that match the requested amounts in November, including $673 million to repair the USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald—the two Navy destroyers damaged from collisions with commercial ships in the Pacific earlier this year.
Read more about the emergency request and missile defense budget movements here.