On August 1, Congress passed the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill authorizes a total of $10 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, $51 million more than the Trump Administration request. The authorization includes relative reductions to programs that were forward financed in the final FY 2018 omnibus appropriations bill and supplements to support improved interoperability improvements for defenses in South Korea. The bill also mandates accelerated planning for both space-based sensor and intercept layers irrespective of the direction of the forthcoming Missile Defense Review, and authorizes $73 million to develop a space sensor architecture.
