{"id":54260,"date":"2020-09-08T13:51:44","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T13:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/08\/america-should-integrate-a-strike-capability-with-its-missile-defense-systems\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:54:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:54:01","slug":"america-should-integrate-a-strike-capability-with-its-missile-defense-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/09\/08\/america-should-integrate-a-strike-capability-with-its-missile-defense-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"America should integrate a strike capability with its missile defense systems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This summer, U.S. Army air defense artillery units in the New Mexico desert have been detecting, tracking and shooting down<\/a> ballistic and cruise missile targets. These efforts are testing, with considerable success, their Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, or IBCS, and its ability to tie together diverse sensors and interceptors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The keyword here is \u201cintegration.\u201d Something of a Pentagon buzzword, neither the meaning of integration nor its future potential<\/a> for countering air and missile threats is adequately understood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Populated by more numerous, diverse, maneuverable, accurate and sophisticated missile threats, the modern battlefield is becoming faster and more lethal. And adversaries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are developing more innovative ways to employ them. As a result, the United States can no longer take for granted the ability to deploy superior military forces whenever and wherever needed. As defense budget constraints begin to bite, the challenge is to find innovative approaches that will effectively defeat these threats without breaking the bank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military leaders have long recognized that integrated air and missile defense is part of the solution. Such integration allows the military to use its defensive forces faster, more efficiently and more effectively. The Army\u2019s current testing confirms that things are going in the right direction. But integrating various elements of active air and missile defenses is only part of the solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\t