Inside Defense:
A short-range air defense unit will be sent to Europe next spring to augment the maneuver force, the chief of the 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command said this week.
Speaking at an April 24 Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance roundtable discussion in Washington, Maj. Gen. Glenn Bramhall emphasized the importance of adding the SHORAD capability to forces on the continent, saying “if we ever get in trouble in Europe, we can protect our maneuver forces. Our maneuver forces [are] engaged to destroy the enemy.”
He called air defense a “triad” that requires short-range, medium-range and long-range capabilities.
“So if you take away one of those legs on this stool, you have a stool that cannot stand,” he said. “Because it’s really SHORAD that protects your other assets. It protects your logistics. It protects your [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense] systems. And, pretty much, it’s got to protect your Patriot systems too.”
