94th AAMDC hosts multilateral IAMD summit

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawai'i —The 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command hosted the Annual Multilateral Integrated Air and Missile Defense Summit at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Hawaii from December 5-9, 2022.

During the five-day event, flag and general officers from six nations discussed regional challenges, experimental technologies, and the integration of command and control systems with regional missile defense forces.

"This summit is about sparking dialog between senior and general officers and furthering missile defense cooperation," said the 94th AAMDC commanding general, Maj. Gen. Brian Gibson, during the summit's opening remarks. "Identifying new opportunities for our nations to train together will continue to strengthen our partnerships in the future."

IAMD professionals across the Indo-Pacific Theater met to collaborate on Integrated Air and Missile Defense topics in an open discussion forum.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's recent trip to the region demonstrated the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

He reiterated the importance of building relationships with regional allies and leveraging collaboration in developing a mutually beneficial integrated defense poster.

"The Indo-Pacific is the key to an open, secure, and prosperous world," Austin said.

The central theme throughout the seminar was enhancing IAMD with like-minded partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific as the threats throughout the region continue to grow in capability and capacity.

"We live in a dangerous neighborhood," Gibson said. "But those challenges are opportunities that give us the chance to think differently - how do we execute passive defense? What other techniques can we develop to enhance what we already use, while also integrating the new capabilities our nations are fielding?"

The summit was followed by a Multilateral Tabletop Exercise at the action officer level hosted by the Pacific Integrated Air & Missile Defense Center.