THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Acting Secretary Shanahan, Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary Wilson, distinguished members of Congress, members of the Joint Chiefs, the leadership of the Armed Forces of the United States, and to all of you who wear the uniform of the United States of America.  It is my honor to be with you here today at the Pentagon as our President unveils his vision for our renewed commitment to American missile defense.

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Second, we will focus on developing new technology, not just investing more money into existing systems.  The world is changing, and we’re going to change much faster than the rest of the world.

This past Tuesday, the Iranian regime tested a “space launch vehicle” — which failed — that will provide Iran with critical information — if it didn’t fail — that they could use to pursue intercontinental ballistic missile capability, and a capability, actually, of reaching the United States.  We’re not going to have that happen.

The United States cannot simply build more of the same, or make only incremental improvements.  What we’ve done to Iran since I’ve become President is rather miraculous.  I ended the horrible, weak Iran Nuclear Deal.  And I will tell you, Iran is a much different country today than it was two years ago.  It’s not the same and it won’t be the same.  And I do believe they want to talk.

It is not enough to merely keep pace with our adversaries; we must outpace them at every single turn.  We must pursue the advanced technology and research to guarantee that the United States is always several steps ahead of those who would do us harm.

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