“Absolute brilliance that we saw last Sunday. It was probably, well, I don’t say probably, it was audacious. It was brilliant. It was a blitz. So it’s a blitz package that may be one of the best ever in the history of missile defense. We say that because a lot of the planes that were hit were fueled and ready to fly with cruise missiles on it to make an attack on Ukraine that day. So the ability to understand that, get the data to know that, and then to be able to process that data and get the data to the effectors, which were the drones, and to be able to have a very limited amount. I think there were 20 to 40 per truck, per base that they attacked. And with a class one, lightweight, very inexpensive, probably $1,000, $1,200 with a payload of maybe a kilo, a kilo and a half, two to four pounds of explosive.
To be able to take out these planes that were preparing to go strike, that is left of launch. That is part of missile defense. That is taking out the threat before it even gets going on that. I think that was a tremendous movement. With that also comes the ability to counter the strike that’s going to happen next, which Ukraine has done very successfully. I think the Russians are flying over 400 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, drones at them, and they’ve defeated a good percent, probably 90% of that.
That’s part of the whole movement to have that right of launch and left of launch, and the data that supports that. And if you step back, you can look at that as the centerpiece of a golden dome type architecture, where the C2 is such a critical aspect. To be able to hit it before launch and hit it after launch was a great example of that. I think it also shattered cost curve attrition. The cost of the drones, probably 100,000 total, maybe a little bit more, and the damage put on it, estimated at 7 billion. That is a tremendous statement on deterrence, on having missile defense capability.
So, we’re very fortunate today to have a great discussion and different perspectives. We have speakers. Three of our four speakers have been in Ukraine or in Ukraine recently over the last couple of months. And we have an Army Special Forces expert, a little bit, in it, and the Army. We have a Navy representative. We have the Air Force representative. And we have a Ukraine representative. So, I think you’d be able to get a bunch of different perspectives in this discussion. But this is a discussion, too, on can we or how do we defend against something like this, if an opponent would do a similar tactic to us?”
Closing Remarks:
“I thank everyone here that participated in this. This certainly is an inflection point. It’s a momentum shifter. And the fact that it was both a left of launch, right of launch, offense, defense combined, enabled by data, sharing, picking up, really gives a perspective, a public perspective of what’s required to win and to defend ourselves. I think this is going to propel both in attention, both in resources, both in priority. I think it’s going to be coupled under the Golden Dome, whether Mike likes it or not.”
Mr. Riki Ellison, MDAA Founder and Chairman
Speakers:
Mr. Konstantin Tymonkin
Ukraine Military Technical Expert
Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery
Former Director of Operations, U.S. Pacific Command
Major General (Ret.) Charles Corcoran
Former Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations U.S. Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Jamie Jarrard
Deputy Commanding General for the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC)
Mr. Riki Ellison
MDAA Founder and Chairman
