Air defense general talks deterrence at LANDEURO

Brig. Gen. Curtis King, commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, speaks during the "Defending the Skies" panel at LANDEURO 2025, July 16, 2025. The panel, hosted by the Association of the United States Army and Govini, brought together senior leaders from the U.S. Army, NATO, industry, and partner nations to discuss the future of integrated air and missile defense in Europe. LANDEURO highlights the importance of data-driven solutions, interoperability, and multinational cooperation to counter evolving aerial threats. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Alexander Watkins)

WIESBADEN, Germany — On June 16, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Curtis King, the commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, spoke at the Association of the United States Army LANDEURO event in Wiesbaden, Germany, on the panel “Defending the Skies: Today’s Capabilities, Tomorrow’s Edge.” He was joined by Seanna Senior, senior vice president of product at Govini, and retired Maj. Gen. John George, vice president and Army strategic account executive at Leidos; Riki Ellison, chairman and founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance; and Dr. Alexey Boiarskyi, special adviser to the Ukrainian minister of digital transformation.

U.S. Soldiers from Bravo Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52d Air Defense Artillery Brigade, engage targets at a Hungarian firing range near Osku, Hungary in the Sgt. Stout, the air defense artillery Stryker A1 veriant, while maneuver units belonging to 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment disengage ground targets, June 19, 2025. 5-4 ADAR and 4-2 CR practice live fire maneuvers to help with ADA integration into maneuver units as part of Defender Europe 2025. Demonstrating global deterrence and the U.S. Army’s ability to rapidly deploy alongside Allies and partners, DEFENDER 25 brings U.S. troops together with forces from 29 Allied and partner nations to build readiness through large-scale combat training from May 11- June 24, 2025. DEFENDER 25 increases the lethality of the NATO alliance through large-scale tactical training maneuvers and long-range fires, builds unit readiness in a complex joint, multinational environment and leverages host nation capabilities to increase the U.S. Army’s operational reach. During three large-scale combat training exercises - Swift Response, Immediate Response, and Saber Guardian- Ally and partner forces integrate and expand multi-domain operations capability, demonstrating combined command and control structures and readiness to respond to crisis and conflict. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. 1st Class Luis Jimenez)

Their discussion focused on the challenges of air defense in Europe, specifically countering mass aerial attacks as seen in the war in Ukraine, rapid data analysis and distribution, reducing the cost disparity between enemy swarm attacks and the interceptors used to counter them, and how to achieve this within the concept of the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line, or EFDL.

“If you had asked me three years ago if I thought Russia had the capability every single day to launch 500 to 700 one-way attack drones, I don’t know if I would have told you they could do that. They probably could have had the ability to launch that once, but not every single day,” said King. “This isn’t a future threat; this is the threat we face today. It is a threat that is only going to grow.”

King and Ellison both described the air defense landscape over Europe and how it has transformed not through gradual evolution, but through a brutal, accelerated revolution, a daily reality forged in the fires of the war in Ukraine. The sheer volume, combined with increasing capacity and complex attack targeting cycles, necessitates a complete reevaluation of defensive strategies, and the EFDL will help move the United States and Europe forward.

“Ground-based air defense is critical to this fight,” said King. “Because you just can’t counter the mass from the air alone. You’ve got to have significant capability on the ground.”

One of the ways they discussed countering these mass strikes is by integrating offensive and defensive fires through systems like the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), where defensive sensors can detect the launch point and target, and then pass that information to an offensive capability.

A Patriot missile launcher stands ready at an airfield in eastern Poland on Jan. 23, 2025.

For the past nine months, the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (5-7 ADA) has provided Patriot missile defense in Poland, supporting ongoing missions in Europe to assure NATO allies and deter Russian aggression. On Jan. 31, 2025, German Patriot missile launchers will replace those from 5-7 ADA, allowing the battalion to return to Baumholder, Germany, where they will train, equip, and modernize in preparation for future missions. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Alec Watkins)

“The data is digitally passed to an offensive capability such as a HIMARS or ATACMS, and within milliseconds, we can process a fire mission,” King said.

The most immediate hurdle is the rapid analysis and distribution of critical data. This is essential to the fight and is being addressed with the EFDL.

“It is critical to have the ability to quickly analyze the data, the data reduction of what we just saw in the fight, and then quickly integrate upgrades, primarily software upgrades, back into those weapon systems,” said King. “We can’t wait nine months to do that.”

He continued by stating that the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools needs to be part of these weapon systems for quicker data gathering and immediate feedback to implement changes faster in this ever-changing war.

Yet even with perfect data, the next challenge is the brutal arithmetic of cost. The conflict has starkly illuminated an economic asymmetry: cheap, expendable threats against multimillion-dollar interceptors.

"It works only as long as the interceptor is more expensive than the targeted threat," said Boiarskyi. "If it's easier for the enemy to make more targets and you make more interceptors, no matter how sophisticated and successful your interceptors are, they will be exhausted or overwhelmed."

He went on to say that the Ukrainians have found that commercial off-the-shelf products are cheaper and easier to replace. These products are also easier to customize to specific needs.

“One key piece we’re focusing on — my team working with Ukraine, working with 5th Corps, and working with industry,” said King. “How do we get unmanned systems that have sensors and effectors that we can have in place in an unmanned security area to be able to blunt or block that first wave, especially UAVs, and probably some of the mass that one-way attack drones would generate? How do we develop those capabilities and move them forward so as not to put a soldier in danger?”

Soldiers assigned to 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment drive the Sgt. Stout to the firing range during Formidable Shield 25, May 6, 2025, in Andøya, Norway.

Formidable Shield 25 is a U.S. Sixth Fleet-led, multinational exercise focused on integrated air and missile defense. The live-fire training brings together naval, air and ground forces from 10 NATO allies and partners. The 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is supporting the exercise with short-range air defense capabilities. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Alexander Watkins)

All of this is where the EFDL emerges as the strategic imperative. The EFDL serves as the backbone of deterrence by denial. The EFDL is designed and planned to share open data across all European countries, creating a collective defense that transcends national boundaries, said Ellison.

The lessons from the ongoing conflict are stark and immediate. From the relentless, daily mass attacks to the critical need for instantaneous data fusion and the unsustainable cost of traditional interceptors, Europe faces a defining moment. Building an "impenetrable sky fortress" over Europe demands an unprecedented level of strategic foresight, technological innovation, and a unified commitment to ensure that Europe's skies remain secure even under the most intense aerial barrages.

King has unique insight into the European theater, serving as the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command’s Theater Army Air and Missile Defense Coordinator and the U.S. Air Forces Europe Deputy Area Air Defense Commander. The purpose of his position within the Air Force is to ensure coordination between the Army and Air Force in dealing with airspace in contested areas. This enables the Army to fire interceptors without compromising the Air Force’s air superiority, while protecting Army maneuver forces.

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Air defense general talks deterrence at LANDEURO

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