đź§µTHREAD on cruise missile defense, feat. @JenJudson (@defense_news), Dr. Peppi DeBiaso (CSIS, fmr. Dir., DoD OMDP), BG Paul Murray (Dep. Dir. Ops, NORAD), Stan Stafira (Chief Architect, MDA), COL Tony Behrens (Dep. Dir., JIAMDO).
Brig. General Murray: A defense design is not a strategy, or an operational plan, a series of wishlists, but a set of concepts or roadmap that informs all those things—strategy, op plans, or procurement.
Murray: Strategy making is usually a 2-year process. But for defense designs we should use agile methodology, like software development. Fast concept iteration; NORAD conducted a design process 2 years ago. Focused on 3 time epics (phases); 2025, 2030, 2035.
Murray: Some major sprints in this process: Detailed look at the threat; was baseline for every assessment. Surveys of domain awareness capability; detecting threats early. In-depth review of logistical capabilities.
Murray: The conclusion? 4 foundational capabilities needed. 1. Domain awareness: how to see threats early 2. Information dominance: Getting readable information. 3. Decision superiority: making decisions better. 4. Global integration: scaling capability to globe.
Murray: DoD needs culture change. A notion that homeland is no longer a sanctuary. Around when new admin came in, NORAD began study on 2030 time epic.
Stan Stafira, Chief Architect of MDA: Threats we're facing "are just not ballistic anymore" and adversaries believe it's an asymmetric advantage. In 2019, Missile Defense Executive Board Meeting held with MDA and NORAD/NORTHCOM syncing on cruise missile defense.
MDEB asked MDA to work with NORAD/NORTHCOM on systems engineering and hardware for CMD. Kill chain analysis, architecture development—specifically to use existing systems.
COL Behrens gives an overview of the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization (JIAMDO), part of the Joint Staff's team for develop IAMD capabilities. Says adversaries will deploy space-based targeting, jamming. spoofing, and decoys.
Dr. DeBiaso talks about what stalled cruise missile defense for 3 decades. Many debates over what to defend, and lower urgency of threat.
DeBiaso on the why: Adversaries developing long-range cruise missiles to destroy/disrupt US logistical hubs and staging in CONUS. Plans to use conventional cruise missile strikes on homeland to disrupt U.S. power projection and raise political stakes of intervention.
DeBiaso: This characteristic of the threat helps resolve some of the thorny policy issues of where to defend. That the strategic focus is driven by threat—on where adversaries would plan to strike. And these threats are to hubs where the US generates forces for power projection.
Stafira on @JenJudson's question about Guam defense: it's a good place to learn about homeland CMD because the area defense of Guam could be applied to U.S. cities or other nodes.
Moment of levity with hiccup in Behrens' mic. Everyone hands him theirs. Behrens jokes: "This is what integration gets us"
Behrens: JIAMDO soon to develop requirements document on IAMD. It'll be updated yearly on what COCOMs demand.
PANEL 3 with @MarcusReports and industry coming up soon. Remember to submit questions:
LTG A.C. Roper, Deputy Commander of NORTHCOM introduces our panel with @LeeHudson_. "We must deal with compressed decision space." Threat "highlights our limited domain awareness"
Roper: "nuclear deterrence is the foundation of homeland defense." But need for "credible deterrence options between the nuclear threshold" including denial (defense) and punishment (offense) options.
Livetweet THREAD 🧵 with @tomkarako and @armyfutures on Project Convergence, w/ LTG James Richardson, COL Toby Magsig, and Dr. Gary Lambert. Watch & ask questions here: csis.org/events/project…
Richardson: begins high-level overview of Army Futures Command and cross-functional teams. 31+4 priority efforts. The mission: "The problem was we cannot talk, we could not pass data"
Project Convergence is AFC's effort to demonstrate various techs, first to reduce sensor-to-shooter timeline. "on average it's about 14 minutes from the time you see the target to you putting rounds on the target."
"we've got that down to seconds."
And we're live on hypersonic defense! Livetweet 🧵 starts here. Watch the event, ask questions, and download the report here: csis.org/events/complex…
@tomkarako starts us off talking about the hypersonic threat. Space sensors are "the single most important program element" for a hypersonic defense.
On to discussion of a glide-phase interceptor. Emphasis on flexible or modular payloads. Hypersonic weapons are vulnerable to different kill modalities.
Complex Air Defense drops tomorrow, but before we start livetweeting the release event, one more thread on historical hypersonic programs: the French/Russian Lyotnii Experimentalii Apparat (LEA) air-breathing vehicle.
NATO RTO diagram of the Russia/France work breakdown. Program began Jan 2003 and PDR completed in 2006. Goal to sustain Mach 4 - 8 for up to 30 seconds in flight tests. Flight tested 4x between 2014 - 2015.
Some detailed views of the vehicle, incl. pressures and heat fluxes, propulsion and fin interaction, and inlet opening/closing simulation.
RADM Druggan, PEO Aegis BMD: Introduces the Aegis system and its missile defense mission. Summarizes the threat: "Today's fight at sea is a missile fight."