Issue Briefs
Deterring China Will Require Better And More Widely Distributed Sensor Capabilities (From RealClearDefence)
Daniel Goure
May 28th, 2021
The Indo-Pacific region is vast. The range, speed, and number of advanced weapons, both manned and unmanned, are increasing. U.S. and allied infrastructure are already within the so-called threat rings of potential adversaries’ offensive systems. To cover the environment and deal with growing threats, U.S. air and missile defenses will need increased sensing capabilities spread over a wide area, from the Western Pacific to the Contiguous United States (CONUS). An architecture based on a set of relocatable land and sea-based radars would allow for enhanced data collection against all threats, including hypersonic ballistic and cruise missiles. More broadly, distributed sensor nodes also enhance the overall resilience of the defensive architectures and reduce the chances an adversary can blind the defense by attacking a small number of critical sites. Distributed radars will be particularly important for the defense of Guam. I have written a commentary for RealClearDefence here.
The views and opinions expressed in this issue brief are those of the author.
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Daniel Gouré, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute. Goure has a background in the public sector and U.S. federal government, most recently serving as a member of the 2001 Department of Defense Transition Team. |