That’s where Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he is going soon to talk to the Russians about ballistic missile defense cooperation. Earlier this month, Levin came out in favor of the US placing a renewed emphasis on seeking collaboration with the Russians in this realm, especially to thwart Iranian missile proliferation. “The Administration that is now in office said they are interested in it and the Russian administration … has mentioned it as well,” Levin told the Daily Report after a breakfast meeting with defense reporters today. “Because Iran appears to be hell-bent” on developing longer range missiles, “it is more and more essential that Russia and the United States act together relative to that threat,” he said. Such a joint effort “would be a very, very powerful statement to Iran,” Levin said. The sharing of early warning data “is the one area where we can make some real progress,” he said. Past joint BMD efforts have faltered, such as the RAMOS research satellite project.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
