Biden's $813.3 BILLION defense budget: President wants $5B for a missile warning system based in SPACE and $2B for a rocket interceptor in response to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch
President Joe Biden will on Monday ask for $813.3 billion in national security spending in his proposed budget, including money for a space-based missile warning system and almost $2 billion for an interceptor to protect against ballistic missile threats from states such as North Korea and Iran.
Senior U.S. generals have warned that Iran's growing arsenal poses the greatest risks to American interests in the Middle East, and North Korea's threat was apparently on display last week when it claimed to have tested its new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.
Analysts said the new missile could reach anywhere in the U.S.
Against that backdrop, Biden will send his budget to Congress on Monday, according to officials familiar with the proposals, with hikes in defense spending.
'I'm calling for one of the largest investments in our national security in history, with the funds needed to ensure that our military remains the best-prepared, best-trained, best-equipped military in the world,' said Biden in a statement ahead of scheduled remarks.
'In addition, I'm calling for continued investment to forcefully respond to Putin’s aggression against Ukraine with US support for Ukraine’s economic, humanitarian, and security needs.'
It includes $773 billion for the Pentagon and overall marks an increase of $31 billion - or four percent more - on this year's national security spending.
President Joe Biden is due to unveil his 2023 budget on Monday. It will reportedly include a hike in spending for the Pentagon as it responds to threats from China and North Korea
North Korea on Thursday said it had tested the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts said could hit targets inside the continental United States
North Korean missile's potential range is 8100 miles. However, some experts have raised doubts about the authenticity of video released by the pariah nation
The state-run Korean Central News Agency released a picture of the country's leader Kim Jong-un inspecting what it said was the launch system of the Hwasong-17 ICBM
A White House official told Bloomberg News that that it marked one of the biggest national security investments in American history, strengthening allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific as well as providing assistance to Ukraine.
It also comes amid a string of warnings that the U.S. is falling behind China in and Russia in defense technology, including in the development of hypersonic weapons and the use of Artificial Intelligence.
China last year tested a hypersonic weapon - defined as being able to travel at five to 25 times the speed of sound, and capable of outmaneuvering missile defense systems - while Russia claims to have used at least two during its invasion of Ukraine.
The request includes $130.1 billion for research and development - reportedly the Pentagon's biggest request in that category - for both of those areas.
Some $5 billion will be directed to a space-based missile warning system to pick up threats worldwide.
And Biden is requesting $145.9 billion for procurement, according to Bloomberg News, with planned purchases including 61 F-35 fighter jets, the B-21 bomber and two Virginia-class submarines.
North Korea flexed its muscles again on Monday, when state media reported that the country's leader had promised to develop even more powerful weapons.
On Thursday, the North performed its 12th round of weapons tests this year, launching its Hwasong-17, which analysts said was designed to target anywhere in the U.S. mainland.
The Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim Jong-un as saying that there was more to come.
Hypersonic missiles differ from ballistic ones in that they travel closer to the earth and as such can largely avoid radar detection
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