Multilateral Integrated Air and Missile Defense Summit and Senior International Leader Event – Pacific 2024

94th Army Air and Missile Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Patrick Costello and US Army Pacific Deputy Commanding Gen. Lt. Gen. Joseph Vowell provided opening remarks at the Multilateral Integrated Air and Missile Defense Summit and Senior International Leader Event – Pacific (MISSILE-PAC) 2024 opening ceremony at U.S. Pacific Headquarters, on Dec. 2. The summit also known as MISSILE-PAC 2024 is the fourth annual IAMD event, organized by the 94th AAMDC where missile defense experts and planners from Allies and partner countries come together to discuss regional challenges, capabilities, and future cooperation.

Lt. Gen. Vowell stated that the US military faces many innovative challenges in maintaining a persistent air surveillance operating picture. US forces need to leverage what was learned in the Middle East during Iran’s missile response against Israel. The defense of Israel was not a unilateral mission but a multinational response.

MISSILE-PAC focuses on IAMD and air domain awareness as it continues to build a solid foundation and framework for multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Interior lines need protection as the US does not have the footprint it once held in the Indo-Pacific, said Lt. Gen. Vowell.

Growing the network of like-minded IAMD experts and stakeholders aids in overcoming classification or coordinating efforts when responding to air and missile threats in a joint and combined manner.

Participants identified opportunities to expand their Allied and partner nations' capacity and capabilities to increase a shared and common operating air picture and potential adversarial threats.

Coalition Forces faced a variety of missile threats ranging from guided and unguided munitions, said Lt. Gen. Vowell. Missile defense response needs to be joint, combined, and synchronized to efficiently address missile threat challenges.”

Several missile defense officials from 12 countries gathered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to collaborate on lessons learned the previous year and where they can overcome coordination efforts not previously foreseen during multilateral training exercises. The representatives from the following nations participated in the week-long event: Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.