So with a new president elect waiting to be innaugurated what does that mean for Air Defense Artillery? Well recent actions by Congress I believe give a pretty good indication what impacts new President Barack Obama will have on the branch:

U.S. lawmakers scolded the Missile Defense Agency for a number of management problems and trimmed its budget in a recently enacted fiscal 2009 appropriations bill (see GSN, Oct. 21).

The appropriations bill criticized several aspects of missile defense operations, including funding priorities in the MDA budget request, flight-test delays and cancellations, and the availability of target missiles for use in testing.

Overall, Congress gave $9.02 billion to the Defense Department’s missile defense arm for the new fiscal year, a figure that largely satisfied agency advocates.

“The reduction was only $320.6 million out of a $9.3 billion request,” MDA spokesman Rick Lehner told Global Security Newswire last week. While some missile defense projects saw their annual budgets decreased, “the programs all were funded [at some level] … so we were pleased,” he said. [NTI Global Security Newswire]

Here is what Congress wants MDA to put emphasis on testing and fielding:

In the bill passed in September, lawmakers said the agency had shifted money into its more exotic, long-term technology development efforts, partially at the expense of fully funding missile defense systems being deployed today.

“In order to execute a balanced program, the Missile Defense Agency must continue to field the near-term missile defense programs, primarily Ground-Based Missile Defense, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, and Theater High-Altitude Area Defense programs,” the appropriations report states. “Funding for fielding these programs, however, is sacrificed each year to pay for the development of futuristic missile defense programs.”

The bill sought to remedy the problem by shifting $120 million into the three near-term efforts, financed by reductions to the longer-term Multiple Kill Vehicle, Airborne Laser and Space Test Bed programs. It directed the agency to report to Congress by Dec. 1 on how it would specifically allocate the additional funds.

Lawmakers also called on the agency to set as its “highest priority” providing additional Standard Missile 3 and THAAD interceptors to combatant commanders and to “budget accordingly” in its fiscal 2010 funding request.

Congress is obviously pushing to complete near term missile defense projects like the Aegis SM-3 along with Air Defense Artillery’s very own THAAD program. It is good to see THAAD is considered a Congressional priority which should protect the program from any potential Pentagon cutbacks coming in a new Presidential administration.