REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama – The Army’s senior air defender discussed the importance of integrating sensors and weapons into a common command architecture that will improve future air and missile defense engagements and force operations during the Association of the United States Army’s symposium, March 17.
Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler, commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and commander of Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, joined other key Army leaders on a panel during AUSA’s Global Force Next symposium to discuss the current status of the Air and Missile Defense Cross Functional Team’s four signature modernization efforts and how future AMD convergence will support multi-domain operations.
“Whether they are pursuing capabilities and increasing capacities or using it today against our Soldiers or against other countries, our adversaries are not taking a pause,” Karbler said. “When you further integrate space into deterrence, you gain a better understanding that the breadth of 21st century strategic deterrence includes not just the nuclear triad that we are all familiar with, but 21st century deterrence brings in the other domains of space, cyber, electromagnetic-spectrum as well as the use of conventional forces. So convergence of these capabilities and effects remains critical for us.
“Within my operational forces in the 1st Space Brigade, the Satellite Operations Brigade or the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, we have been able to see the convergence of great leaders, Soldiers and civilians,” Karbler added. “SMDC and JFCC IMD occupy the key terrain, which is the integration nexus among three combatant commands – U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Space Command and U.S. Northern Command. That integration is critically important to a broad strategic deterrence mission.”
Joining Karbler on the panel were Brig. Gen. Brian W. Gibson, director of the Air and Missile Defense Cross Functional Team with Army Futures Command; Maj. Gen. Robert A. Rasch Jr., Program Executive Officer Missiles and Space; Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Sheriff, commanding general of the Army National Guard’s 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command; and Tom Karako, PhD, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
With AMD being a primary driver of the Army’s modernization priorities, the leaders said reducing critical capability gaps by rapidly integrating and synchronizing developmental requirements will allow the Army to deliver AMD capabilities to the warfighter faster.
Integrated air and missile defense is the Army’s contribution to joint IAMD capabilities and provides for common mission command across all AMD echelons. AIAMD’s open architecture maximizes flexibility, enhances protection of critical assets over a large battlespace, positively integrates sensors and weapons, enables improvement in coordinated engagements and creates shared situational understanding.
“We see how the convergence of sensors, effectors and command and control on the battlefield are going to allow us to increase our battlespace, take on the adversary challenges earlier, better command and control and more efficient use of our forces,” Karbler said. “And as we have seen in some of our test events it is not just about active defense, it is not just about the defensive capabilities we have out there, it is integrating with the offensive capabilities that the Army and our joint partners are able to bring.”
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