[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1282 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1282

 To provide for a testing program for the Navy Theater-Wide system and 
             the Theater High-Altitude Area Defense system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2001

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for a testing program for the Navy Theater-Wide system and 
             the Theater High-Altitude Area Defense system.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Realistic Tests for Realistic 
Threats National Security Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Government of North Korea, on August 31, 1998, 
        launched a three-stage rocket called the Taepo Dong I. Iran is 
        currently developing the Shahab 5 missile.
            (2) The Taepo Dong rocket, when configured and deployed as 
        a ballistic missile, and the Shahab 5 missile will each pose a 
        threat to United States military forces deployed in Asia and to 
        Asian and European allies of the United States and may pose a 
        threat to the United States itself.
            (3) The United States is committed to protecting its 
        forward deployed forces, its allies in Asia and Europe, and 
        United States citizens against the threat of ballistic missile 
        attack through the development and deployment of ballistic 
        missile defense systems, including the Navy Theater-Wide system 
        and the Theater High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
            (4) The Taepo Dong I rocket, when configured as a ballistic 
        missile, and the Shahab 5 missile are each estimated to have a 
        maximum velocity greater than the velocity of the targets in 
        currently planned tests against target of either the Navy 
        Theater-Wide system or the Theater High Altitude Area Defense 
        system. If these systems are not tested against target missiles 
        with velocities comparable to the maximum velocity of the Taepo 
        Dong I missile, the United States will not be capable of 
        meeting the threat posed by the near-term deployment of the 
        Taepo Dong I missile by North Korea or the Shahab 5 missile by 
        Iran.
            (5) Both the Navy Theater-Wide system and the Theater High 
        Altitude Area Defense system should be tested in a way to 
        demonstrate their respective capabilities to intercept missiles 
        with the flight characteristics, and particularly with the 
        maximum velocity, of the Taepo Dong I missile.

SEC. 3. TESTING OF NAVY THEATER-WIDE SYSTEM OR THEATER HIGH-ALTITUDE 
              AREA DEFENSE SYSTEM.

    (a) Test.--The Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense 
Organization of the Department of Defense shall conduct at least one 
intercept test of the Navy Theater-Wide system or the Theater High 
Altitude Area Defense system, or both, against a target ballistic 
missile with the flight characteristics, including the maximum 
velocity, of the Taepo Dong I missile of North Korea at a logical point 
consistent with the current testing programs of the two systems.
    (b) Program Management.--The Director of the Ballistic Missile 
Defense Organization shall take immediate steps to modify plans for 
managing the development of the Navy Theater-Wide system or the Theater 
High Altitude Area Defense system, or both, as necessary to conduct the 
intercept testing required by subsection (a).
    (c) System Configuration.--The Director of the Ballistic Missile 
Defense Organization, in order to improve the likelihood that an 
intercept test pursuant to subsection (a) is successful, should review 
changes in the configuration of the system chosen for the conduct of 
that test--
            (1) to increase the speed of the interceptor missiles of 
        that system to well in excess of three kilometers-per-second; 
        and
            (2) to allow the interceptor missiles of that system to 
        receive and use targeting data provided by a variety of 
        external sensors, including shipboard radar, airborne sensors, 
        ground-based radar, and satellite sensors.
                                 <all>