Photo By Capt. Alexander Watkins | U.S. Army Col. Ro Clemente delivers remarks during the 2024 EUROSATORY Speaker’s...... read more read more
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PARIS — EUROSATORY 2024, held from June 17 to 21, is the largest ever defense show and expo in Europe. The event, covering 102,000 square meters, featured over 62,000 visitors from more than 145 countries. Exhibits on the floor of EUROSATORY showcased platforms, technologies, and systems addressing some of the most challenging problems faced by the U.S., its Allies, and partner nations. This year’s exhibit also reflected feedback from the last two years of the war in Ukraine.
One way these reflections were incorporated into EUROSATORY 2024 was through the Association of the United States Army’s Speaker’s Corner. These 45-minute presentations featured a variety of speakers and subject matter experts on diverse topics. One of the presentations, “Integrated Air and Missile Defense and the Emerging Air Threat,” was delivered by 10th AAMDC’s G3 Operations Officer, U.S. Army Col. Rosanna Clemente.
Clemente began her remarks reflecting on the growing role integrated air and missile defense has played, driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Recently short, intermediate, and long-range missile threats are rising worldwide. The last two years of Russian aggression in Europe have shown the importance of defending against these missile and drone strikes on today’s battlefield,” Clemente said. “We must capitalize on the momentum the war in Ukraine has generated, particularly because people have not placed this much emphasis on air defense since the end of the Cold War.”
The challenges faced by Ukrainian air defenders are complex, with Russia frequently using multi-domain, multi-layered attacks to create challenges for the air defenders on the ground.
Clemente provided a brief vignette of what a Ukrainian air defender may expect to see within a 24-hour period: “Let’s consider the following battlefield exchange that occurs over a 24-hour period. It includes a wave of one-way attack drones, air-launched ballistic missiles, air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, reconnaissance drones, loitering munitions, and barrages of conventional artillery and missiles.”
When faced with these complex problems and multiple threats, Ukrainian air defenders are faced with the reality that every air defender acknowledges: there will never be enough air and missile defense capacity in terms of systems, complexes, and interceptors to defend everything that has to be protected. Faced with this, air defenders, especially Ukrainian air defenders, ask themselves one question when assigning assets to provide protection, “Where do I deploy my assets to protect and save the most lives.”
The increase in air and missile threats from Russia has also led to concerns about a rise in the financial cost of deterrence, a point Clemente addressed directly: “The concerns from the West over mounting expenses needed to face such a threat are understandable, but these expenses pale in comparison to the far higher price the international community will have to pay if there were to be a Russian victory.”
Clemente proposed a regional solution to allies and partners to address the increasingly complex air and missile threat: “A regional approach to air defense would allow NATO to shift from legacy, closed, and slow thinking systems to open, AI-enabled, fast, cost curve informed, and adaptable systems.” Clemente continued on this regional approach, saying that the NATO exercise framework is the place where interoperability is built and tested. “Adapting this regional model requires extensive air and missile defense training and exercising reps and sets within the NATO exercise framework to establish the trust and interoperability in conflict.”
She concluded with a strong reinforcement of one of the main observations from the war in Ukraine, that no single country can do integrated air and missile defense alone, “What we continue to observe in Ukraine, is that we are stronger together. When we deepen interoperability and affirm resolve against those who violate territorial integrity and political sovereignty of other states.”
Events like EUROSATORY provide unique forums to forge relationships, share ideas, and become closer. No nation can confront the unique challenges of air and missile defense alone. NATO’s strength lies in its unity – which has never been greater than it is today. The 10th AAMDC continues to be at the forefront of integration with our NATO allies and partners across all domains.
For further inquiries, please contact the 10th AAMDC Public Affairs office at +49 172 1410977 or USARMY.Rheinland-Pfalz.10AAMDC.PAO@army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2024 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 474342 |
| Location: | PARIS, FR |
| Web Views: | 279 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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