John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said there are four imperatives that have been driving his team at the Department of Defense when it comes to integrated air and missile defense, or IAMD, and the first two are balanced offense-defense approaches and rapid innovation in future technologies.
Plumb said that when it comes to rapid innovation, DOD should invest in novel areas such as hypersonic defense, directed energy and space-based missile warning and tracking.
“The space domain is intrinsically linked to missile defense in terms of missile warning, tracking, and detection, and is an area with significant technological growth ahead,” he said Tuesday during his speech at a conference.
“On regional hypersonic defense, the Department is currently engaged in the development of a future capability called the Glide Phase Interceptor, or GPI,” he added.
He also discussed the other two IAMD imperatives: comprehensive missile defeat and close engagement with allies and partners.
Plumb described comprehensive missile defeat as “a full-spectrum approach to prevent and defeat adversary missiles in all domains and along all timelines through a mix of kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities such as passive defense and electronic warfare.”
He noted that DOD continues to prioritize IAMD-related engagement with international allies and partners.
“Building our collective IAMD efforts strengthens our common protection, enhances extended deterrence, and provides assurances essential to the cohesion of our alliances and partnerships against regional missile threats, coercion and attacks,” the DOD official added.