The director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) this week told lawmakers it would be “very hard” to reach the congressionally-mandated initial operating capacity (IOC) for the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) by 2029.
“[2029] will be a very hard, with the design of the system and the way the system is set up and the technology maturation that we have playing out over the next four or five years, 2029, with the existing GPI plan, will be a very hard date to meet as we move forward. Very, very, very high-risk program to do that,” MDA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said while testifying before the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces on May 8.
Collins was responding to questioning from Ranking Member Deb Fischer (R- Neb.) on if MDA could reach the modified IOC date if given enough funding by Congress.
The fiscal year 2024 defense authorization act pushed MDA to develop GPI faster than planned, to reach the IOC by the end of 2029, which includes at least 12 interceptor missiles. It also directs MDA to reach full operating capability with at least 24 interceptors by 2032 (Defense Daily, Dec. 21, 2023).
In 2022, MDA downselected to the current two competitors, RTX [RTX] and Northrop Grumman [NOC], to continue refining their concepts (Defense Daily, June 24, 2022).
According to the Defense Department’s FY 2025 budget request documents, MDA is seeking only $182 million in hypersonic defense, lower than the $209 million in FY ‘24 and the $219 million DoD planned to request for in 2025 in the 2024 budget request planning (Defense Daily, March 18)
The documents also said this funding decrease reflects expected savings from moving to a single prime contractor in the short term as well as a planned cooperative development agreement with Japan.
In his opening statement to the subcommittee, Collins confirmed MDA expects to select a single GPI design by the end of fiscal year 2024 to then complete development while also supporting the planned cooperative development of the GPI with Japan.
While Collins indicated GPI could not reach IOC by 2029, he noted the section of the FY ‘24 defense authorization bill also tasked the agency to come up with options for a report, which they are working on.
“We are working with our industry partners, with our service partners for options within the GPI program and potentially outside the GPI program to bring capability to bear against the hypersonic threat. We will incorporate that into that report and deliver that later this year, with options space and resource-informed,” he said.