With 32 nations openly possessing ballistic missiles, it’s not possible for the U.S. to actively destroy every one of those targets while in flight. The key is to destroy them prior to launch, either by attacking systems on the ground or through other means such as cyber attacks, said NORTHCOM/ NORAD Commander ADM William Gortney, speaking at the Space and Missile Command Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
Citing the experience gained against Germany’s V2 rockets in World War II, the key in that situation was to “hit the ground facilities because we couldn’t hit the object,” said Gortney. “Ballistic missiles are a lot cheaper than an Air Force. We don’t have enough arrows to shoot down the ballistic missiles of 32 countries. We must attack their kill chain (because) 100 percent of our force that is overseas is at risk to this threat.”
Gortney also discussed the inability of space air ground and naval assets to share data that helps develop a common operating picture. Presentations often show lightning bolts signifying data sharing between those types of assets, he said. At the moment, those lightning bolts are not real.
“When you look at a PowerPoint you see lightning bolts connecting them all,” said Gortney “Nobody has paid for that. It’s imaginary. We need to fund those lightning bolts.”
Regarding NORTHCOM and NORAD moving back into Cheyenne mountain because of a threat from electromagnetic pulse weapons, Gortney said,”We never left the mountain. Because of the way Cheyenne mountain was constructed it was by its nature already EMP hardened. My concern is whether there is room. We’re now doing modifications so all the partners can fit in.”
And on the possibility of an East Coast site for ground-based interceptors, Gortney said, “I don’t need it. Priorities are to make what we have the best it can be. We have to invest in the maintainability of (what we already have), and we need better sensors to detect the threat and tell us if we were successful in their engagement.”
