Stefanik gets more support for missile defense site at Fort Drum

WASHINGTON (WWNY) - North country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is lining up more support for an East Coast missile defense site to be built at Fort Drum.

At a Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing in Washington, Stefanik asked for a public commitment from Vice Admiral Jon Hill, the director of the Missile Defense Agency, to develop a third missile defense site at Fort Drum.

He supported the placement.

“When it comes to defense, geography is very meaningful and our ability to expand the battle space for something like a next-generation interceptor, that is exactly what that location does and what it does provide,” said Hill.

A couple of weeks ago, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley also stated his support for the system to be built at Fort Drum, the first high-level voice at the Department of Defense to do so.

There’s no authorization from Congress to spend the billions needed to put the missile defense site at Fort Drum, although it has been chosen as the location if it were to get built.

Copyright 2023 WWNY. All rights reserved.