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tration and the Congress may soon have to make a clear choice: either to slip SDI's timetable in order to hold down costs, while maintaining a balance of spending on mature and less-advanced technologies, or to emphasize those technologies that could lead to deployment in the 1990's and hold down costs by delaying higher risk, higher payoff technologies. I think this choice is one of the key decisions that you face regarding the SDI budget, particularly if you decide to place further limits on it.

Mr. Chairman, that completes my statement. Ms. Dombey and I would be glad to answer any questions you have.

Prepared Statement of Robert F. Hale

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the budget of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). For fiscal year 1988, the Administration has requested $5.2 billion for SDI research in the Department of Defense (DoD). Over the next five years (1988-1992), the request totals about $37 billion. (The total request for SDI research-$5.8 billion in 1988-includes about $600 million for work to be done by the Department of Energy, but I will focus on DoD funds.)

My testimony describes this SDI request and discusses some important trends in funding. Those trends suggest that SDI will consume a sharply growing share of all DoD research funds. There are also shifts in funds. within SDI that suggest growing emphasis on more mature technologies, though SDI continues substantial funding for many types of technologies.

It is beyond the scope of my testimony to judge the desirability of these requests. SDI has a far-reaching goal: to deter nuclear war by defending populations against a nuclear attack rather than by relying primarily on retaliation to provide deterrence. The desirability of SDI's funding requests depends on an assessment of the importance of that goal and the likelihood of achieving it. It also requires examining the impact of SDI funding on other research programs for defense.

OVERALL SDI BUDGET TRENDS

The Administration is requesting $5.2 billion of DoD budget authority for SDI in 1988. The 1988 request makes SDI by far the largest single program

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within DoD's budget for research, development, test, and evaluation (often shortened to research and development or R&D). The next largest R&D funding request for which data are publicly available is for the small ICBM

at $2.2 billion. Excluding SDI, the three most expensive R&D programs in 1988 average $1.5 billion each. Indeed, SDT's 1988 budget request exceeds that of any single procurement program and rivals the R&D budget of at least one of the military services. The Army-the service with the smallest R&D budget is requesting $5.5 billion for R&D in 1988 compared with $5.2 billion for SDL

Over the next five years, requested SDI funds for DoD would grow in real terms by an average of 14 percent a year to $9.8 billion in 1992 (see Table 1). Total five-year funding would amount to $37.1 billion. SDI's rapid growth is not unusual for a research and development program. Requested real growth is, however, sharply higher in 1988 (at 56 percent) than the average growth over the next five years. This request is presumably to make up for reductions in SDT's budget in the previous year (higher growth in the first year has been a characteristic of recent budget plans for SDI).

TABLE 1. TRENDS IN SDI RESEARCH BUDGETS (In billions of current dollars)

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Excludes supplemental appropriation request of $0.8 billion. If this request were included, real growth in 1987 and 1988 would each be 36 percent.

Because SDI is large, its growth means it is consuming a large and sharply growing share of DoD's budget for research and development. In

1984, SDI consumed 4 percent of DoD's R&D funds; by 1987 that amount had grown to 9 percent (see Table 1). According to the Administration's request, SDI will use 12 percent of all R&D funds in 1988 and 23 percent by 1992.

Moreover, SDI is consuming a growing share of a relatively constant R&D pie. Between now and 1992, DoD is requesting little real growth in total R&D funding (substantial real growth in 1988 will be offset by planned real declines in future years). As a result, R&D programs other than SDI will experience real declines.

These budget trends for SDI could continue beyond 1992. Currently, some technologies in SDI are in their advanced development stage, in which they are developed and validated. Around 1992, the Administration plans to decide whether to proceed to the more expensive stage of full-scale development, during which prototype components would be developed and tested. In addition, increased research spending in the 1990s on SDI's companion program-Air Defense Initiative (ADI)-could exacerbate effects on other R&D programs. The purpose of ADI is to improve air defenses to protect this country against muclear-armed bombers and cruise missiles, much as SDI is designed to protect against ballistic missiles.

These various trends clearly suggest that, under the Administration's plans, R&D projects other than SDI face tough fiscal times in the next few years. The Congress must weigh any adverse effects on other projects against SDI's importance.

TRENDS WITHIN SDI BUDGET

Most SDI funds are apportioned within five broad budget categories called program elements. Figure 1 summarizes the key aspects of these five

program elements. The first two include funds for weapons that would be used to destroy enemy missiles:

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Kinetic Energy Weapons (KEW) are those that would destroy an
enemy missile by hitting it with another object ("hitting a bullet
with a bullet"). Kinetic energy technology is more mature and
would probably be emphasized in any full-scale development of
SDI in the 1990s.

Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) are those that would destroy an
enemy missile with bursts from a laser or particle beam weapon.
Directed energy technology is generally much less ready for
development into weapons than is kinetic energy technology.

In addition to two program elements dealing with weapons, there are three
SDI program elements that deal with sensors, system integration, and other

support:

The program element for Surveillance, Acquisition, Tracking,
and Kill Assessment (SATKA) provides funds primarily for
developing sensors and other systems that would detect and

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