“In the battle between democracy and autocracies, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.”
“And as I have made crystal clear: The United States and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power. Every single inch.”
President Joe Biden, State of the Union Address, March 1st, 2022
In 1949, the United States, Canada, and several Western European countries joined together to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the goal of providing collective security against the Soviet Union. Today, NATO has expanded into Eastern Europe and stands strong with 30 member nations. While the resolve of members and commitment to NATO’s principles has sometimes been questioned, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has reinvigorated the spirit of collective security among the Alliance. The past week has seen NATO activate its response force, a cohort of 40,000 troops that provide land, air, and naval support throughout the allied force; notably moving 22,000 troops to member states that border Russia and Belarus. Additionally, a wide range of NATO members have committed to sending critical armaments such as Javelins, Stingers, and other portable air defense launchers to aid Ukrainian fighters and expel Russian invaders.
President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the collective security of NATO in his first State of the Union address, saying:
“Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west.”
“For that purpose, we’ve mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, and ship deployments to protect NATO countries, including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.”
President Joe Biden, State of the Union Address, March 1st, 2022
The firm US commitment to NATO and the defense of our allies has been noted by an aggressive Russia. Their discontent with this American security guarantee has manifested in overt threats from Putin about “consequences never before seen” should the US become directly involved in countering Russian aggression. The implied threat to the homeland is clearly evident. And thus the critical importance for defense against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile attack in Europe applies even more urgently to our own homeland.
In following the President’s intent and clear articulation of mobilization of American Forces to NATO to defend NATO, we implore that Patriot and THAAD be deployed to our Eastern European NATO allies as we noted this past Saturday on our virtual. We strongly recommend the activation of patriot battalions and THAAD batteries currently prepared to be deployed to our NATO allies in Eastern Europe. Additionally, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs should consider repositioning US Navy AEGIS Cruiser and Destroyer Assets to support a layered missile defense of our Eastern European allies.
In a related development on Tuesday, General Glen VanHerck, the commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, testified before Congress and aired his concerns with the outdated US strategy of nuclear deterrence in relation to a Russian nuclear attack upon the United States Homeland. “Our operating model that assumed we could project power globally from safe and secure Homeland is eroding and has been eroding for more than a decade in order to provide national leaders with timely and informed options that they need to achieve favorable outcomes… We must improve our ability to detect and track potential threats anywhere in the world while delivering data to decision-makers as rapidly as possible, wherever they might be in pursuit of those goals.”
Gen. Glen VanHerck, “Fiscal Year 2023 Strategic Forces Posture Hearing”, March 1st, 2022
The fielding of the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) is absolutely critical for the identification and tracking of Russian Hypersonic Missile threats as we have no sensors today that can warn and track hypersonic glide vehicles from launch to impact. The Defensive Satellite Sensor (DSS) currently under development will provide the capability in Space to look up and around in cold backgrounds to discriminate ballistic missile payloads as they disperse through their flights. The Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR) is a land-based essential early warning instrument that provides persistent coverage for Cruise Missile Defense up to 3,000 km. All three of these types of sensors must be fielded and deployed as rapidly as possible for the deterrence and defense of our United States Homeland which is the base for our assured nuclear deterrent for our allies and partner nations.
We as a nation cannot tolerate the lack of prepared missile defense. We cannot hide from our shortfalls, we can only step up to them. Similarly, in Ukraine, we cannot expect this international outrage to go away on its own. We must draw the line and support the sovereignty of Ukraine and the Sovereignty of Western Civilization. We must insist upon it and we must unify around it.
