After losing funding in February, a missile defense radar system planned for construction in Hawaii is set to make a comeback after the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee voted to pass on the annual National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
The $740.5 billion defense policy bill includes a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative with $1.4 billion in initial funding that would shore up U.S. military resources in the region against what it considers to be Chinese encroachment. Chinese and Indian troops are currently engaged in a tense border standoff and Chinese fighter jets entered Taiwanese airspace on Tuesday.
That includes a $162 million authorization for the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii that reverses a Trump administration call to eliminate funding for the project in its proposed defense budget.
鈥淎s the United States continues to confront a range of strategic threats in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, it is imperative that all Americans are protected by our ballistic missile defense system,鈥 said Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono in a press release.
鈥淪ecuring full funding authorization for HDR-H was my top priority in the NDAA this year because it will help keep Hawaii safe from external threats. I will continue to advocate for its inclusion in the final, approved package.鈥
It鈥檚 not yet clear where the new system would be based, but military officials had been studying three locations on Oahu’s North Shore and one in West Kauai.聽The press release from Hirono鈥檚 office stated that 鈥渢his funding will support construction of HDR-H following the Missile Defense Agency鈥檚 completed siting process 鈥 a process that should include meaningful community engagement.鈥
Local activists had vocally opposed the project on grounds that the construction could threaten cultural sites and harm the environment.
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