Sea Power Magazine:
WASHINGTON — The nation cannot defend itself and its allies against the emerging missile threats, including hypersonic weapons, without space assets, a trio of top Pentagon officials said Sept. 4.
“We cannot do what we need to do in missile defense without space,” said Michael Griffin, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
Space-based sensors can provide the early warning and persistent tracking of a missile threat that cannot be achieved by land- and sea-based sensors, but they will not replace those terrestrial assets, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, director of the Missile Defense Agency.
That view was echoed by John Rood, the undersecretary of defense for policy, at a Capitol Hill forum sponsored by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
