Republican leaders of the House Armed Services Committee are eager for the United States to spend money on developing new classified space systems, especially after China launched an anti-satellite missile last month. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Terry Everett (R-Ala.) sent a letter to President Bush, urging to “make substantial efforts … now to avoid technological surprise.” (Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) made a similar case at a Washington forum earlier this week.) In a press statement, Hunter called China’s shootdown of its own satellite “the commencement of a new era of military competition.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.