Axios interview: U.S. Army air defenses are a sizzling hot commodity
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A Patriot battery operator at an undisclosed location within U.S. Central Command in 2023. Photo: Alexander Cook/DVIDS
The demand for U.S. Army overhead defenses will not "be letting up anytime soon," a top Army leader said Tuesday night at an Axios Future of Defense event in Huntsville, Alabama.
Why it matters: Missile defense is hot right now, from the defense of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar — during which the single largest Patriot salvo was launched — to the service's quadrupling of its PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement acquisition goal.
- The stakes are further amplified by fighting in Eastern Europe and the greater Middle East, where explosive drones batter troops and civilians every day.
The latest: "Our air defenders are probably one of the most in-demand and operationally deployed capabilities that we have within the Army," David Fitzgerald, Acting Under Secretary of the Army, said in an onstage interview during Axios' Future of Defense: Domes, Drones and Dollars event in the Rocket City.
- "Those units get rode pretty hard," he said. "I think that's just reflective, though, of the critical capability that they bring" to the fight.
The intrigue: Fitzgerald sees opportunities for increased AI application in the future.
- Coordinated swarms of missiles, drones and decoys have complicated the job of protecting military bases, critical infrastructure and cities.
By the numbers: The Army is planning to grow its air-and-missile defense force by 30%, Defense News reported Tuesday.
Go deeper: "You could never have enough": Militaries scramble for air defense interceptors
