Axios Live: Overhead defense receives global spotlight due to growing threats

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – U.S. Army air defenses are in high demand, and that demand is only expected to continue, acting Under Secretary of the Army David Fitzgerald said at an Axios Live event last week.

Why it matters: Overhead defense is front and center in the global defense landscape amid advancing missile and drone capabilities, as exemplified by President Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile shield.

Axios' Colin Demarest spoke with Fitzgerald, Epirus CEO Andy Lowery, and Center for Strategic and International Studies missile defense project director Tom Karako at the August 5 event, sponsored by AWS and Firehawk.

What they're saying: "Our air defenders are probably one of the most in-demand and operationally deployed capabilities that we have within the Army," Fitzgerald said. "So I don't see that letting up any time soon."

• "Those units get rode pretty hard … I think that's just reflective though of the critical capability that they bring to the joint fight," he said.

State of play: Missile defense is a hot topic right now for the U.S. and many other countries, because that's where the threats lie, Karako said.

• "It's fundamentally the surge in the global supply and demand for lots and lots of standoff capability."

The bottom line: "I think integrated air-and-missile defense is going to continue to be a key capability that the Army delivers to the Joint Force," Fitzgerald said.

• "[W]e're here to stay, I hope," said Lowery, who leads the anti-drone defense tech company Epirus, which raised $250 million earlier this year. "I think folks want to see this technology scale."

What's next: Fitzgerald sees AI playing an increased role in the future evolution of these systems.

Content from the sponsored segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, Firehawk Aerospace CEO Will Edwards said that the U.S. doesn't have the proper industrial base to be leaning into drone production, saying we need to focus on building other technologies like rocket motors. "I think drones are a waste of money, if I'm being perfectly honest," he said.

• "We are posturing as a country in a way that makes no sense. Ukraine, Europe, they're building millions of drones a year. We have billion-dollar companies here in the United States producing thousands a year – we don't have the industrial base for it."
• "What we can do is build rocket motors, we can build artillery shells. We need to lean in on that kind of technology," he added.