{"id":71590,"date":"2025-11-21T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/11\/21\/army-air-defense-modernization-must-meet-todays-threats\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:02:09","slug":"army-air-defense-modernization-must-meet-todays-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2025\/11\/21\/army-air-defense-modernization-must-meet-todays-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Army air defense modernization must meet today\u2019s threats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During my time in the U.S. Army, I learned several valuable lessons from a combat-seasoned noncommissioned officer that ring as true today as the day I first heard them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He told me, \u201cIf you can be seen, you will be targeted, and if targeted, you will die.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those words came from a past era, the Cold War, when all combat operations were large-scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same NCO also taught me, \u201cBig objects draw attention. Attention draws interest. Interest ends with targeting, and you know how targeting ends. Small things are not interesting, and mobility \u2014 rapid emplacement and displacement, makes you hard to target.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thankfully, for our deployed troops and U.S. citizens, today\u2019s Army leadership seems focused on the points above. As our Army undergoes a transformation to prepare itself for modern warfare, it is critical to understand the operating environment and for an air defender, that environment is dynamic and exceedingly challenging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The operational lessons from U.S. Central Command and the Russia-Ukraine war should make us stop and think, \u201cIs it time to go back to the future as we transform?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The aerial threat of 2025 is more dynamic and diverse than ever before. Armed unmanned aerial systems have proliferated at a massive rate, and cruise missiles have validated their stealth and lethality, while ballistic missiles have transformed from pop-up flies into maneuvering snitches. Synchronized, complex, 360-degree attacks are now the norm, and direct attacks on air defense systems are now part of the enemy\u2019s calculus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shoot-move-communicate Cold War mantra has become shoot, move to survive and rapidly reintegrate into the fight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Operations in Ukraine highlight the importance of survivability moves. For example, a Patriot battery that remains static after executing numerous successful engagements can become the targeted victim of a complex attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">April 2024\u2019s highly successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/battlefield-tech\/2024\/04\/14\/heres-the-air-defense-system-that-protected-israel-from-irans-drones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/battlefield-tech\/2024\/04\/14\/heres-the-air-defense-system-that-protected-israel-from-irans-drones\/\">air defense operations in Israel<\/a> demonstrate the complexity and challenges of today\u2019s environment. U.S. and Israeli aircraft and air defense systems soundly defeated the complex aerial assault, but not in a truly integrated fashion. At best, it was a coordinated defense, which applied innovative tactics, techniques and procedures with existing command-and-control systems to defeat a challenging threat set. The defense succeeded, but at a great cost to U.S. defense assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As with the defense of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/07\/12\/iran-hit-dome-on-us-air-base-in-qatar-in-june-attack-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/07\/12\/iran-hit-dome-on-us-air-base-in-qatar-in-june-attack-report\/\">Al Udeid Air Base<\/a> in June or Al-Dhafra Air Base in 2022, the number of exquisite, limited production and expensive interceptors expended was significant, if not astounding. The dollar cost of those interceptors is irrelevant to an operator. An operator\u2019s concern is the duration of operations: \u201cHow long can I stay in the fight with the number of interceptors I have?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An integrated defense, supported by an integrated fire control system, extends the duration of operations as it selectively pairs shooters to targets and directs \u201cwho is taking the shot.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2023\/04\/12\/us-army-greenlights-key-battle-command-system-for-full-rate-production\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2023\/04\/12\/us-army-greenlights-key-battle-command-system-for-full-rate-production\/\">Integrated Battle Command System<\/a> is the linchpin to solving these air defense operational challenges. After nearly three dozen successful flight tests, it is now being fielded. IBCS provides air defenders with a single integrated air picture and a fire control network that integrates disparate sensors and diverse shooters. \u201cAny sensor, best shooter\u201d isn\u2019t just a bumper sticker \u2014 it is backed up by 41 successful intercepts of 41 threat targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IBCS is the backbone for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2025\/05\/28\/no-clear-plan-for-supporting-guam-missile-defense-system-gao-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2025\/05\/28\/no-clear-plan-for-supporting-guam-missile-defense-system-gao-finds\/\">Guam missile defense system<\/a> and should play a predominant role in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2025\/05\/20\/trump-estimates-golden-dome-will-cost-175b-over-three-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2025\/05\/20\/trump-estimates-golden-dome-will-cost-175b-over-three-years\/\">Golden Dome<\/a> system\u2019s architecture. But as it is currently configured, it does not contribute to enhancing a unit\u2019s survivability \u2014 the other challenge facing air defenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For an inexplicable reason, the Army has moved away from mounted and mobile command systems, which served us well in Operation Iraqi Freedom\u2019s race to Baghdad. Today\u2019s air defense tactical operational centers are extremely large, high-profile, windowless tents, which violates that sage NCO\u2019s second rule about big objects drawing attention, interest, and, eventually, targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army must leverage the technological and tactical success of IBCS by transforming it into a more agile, mobile command-and-control system to meet today\u2019s survivability challenges as it decisively and effectively defeats the threat. The Army should harness its integrated air and missile defense investment to evolve the system and grow its capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Battlefield success and survivability demand increased speed of service, reliability and resilience, mobility and configuration and employment options. Today\u2019s emplaced operations must become \u201cat the halt\u201d and then \u201con the move\u201d operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s recently released Air and Missile Defense Operations manual recognizes the new operating environment and speaks to air defense artillery task forces \u2014 a variety of air defense systems, organized for combat operations under a single headquarters, to execute an integrated defense. Task forces, employing a tiered, scalable and integrated command-and-control system, will replace the single, siloed weapon system defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today\u2019s operating environment demands agile, mobile, resilient, small-footprint and integrated battle command-and-control systems. The Army must reconfigure IBCS\u2019 leap-ahead capabilities to meet the changing operating environment. But the question of what is far easier than the how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army must fully leverage its existing contracts and challenge its current industry partners to develop, procure and deploy an upgraded IBCS as quickly as possible. Let\u2019s parlay what\u2019s working to innovate this much-needed adaptive capability by the swiftest means necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Francis Mahon is a retired Army major general. He previously served as director for test at the Missile Defense Agency, commander of an Army Air and Missile Defense Command and director of materiel on the Army Staff.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Army must leverage its existing contracts and challenge industry partners to develop, procure and deploy an upgraded IBCS as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":17,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,36,17],"tags":[8600,8587],"coauthors":[1696],"class_list":["post-71590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-opinion","tag-guam","tag-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6A5WJXJTLBCH5M5T2DYEVUUWFE","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/2025\/11\/21\/army-air-defense-modernization-must-meet-todays-threats\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Army air defense modernization must meet today\u2019s threats - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Army must leverage its existing contracts and challenge industry partners to develop, procure and deploy an upgraded IBCS as quickly as possible.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army air defense modernization must meet today\u2019s threats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Army must leverage its existing contracts and challenge industry partners to develop, procure and deploy an upgraded IBCS as quickly as possible.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2025\/11\/21\/army-air-defense-modernization-must-meet-todays-threats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-21T21:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T14:02:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maj. 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