Adversaries are creating systems to keep U.S. forces at bay, including long-range missiles, advanced radar equipment to sense incoming assets, and non-kinetic means of engagement, such as cyber and electronic warfare. This has made the Army realize it needs a long-range penetrating capability to thwart these so-called anti-access area denial areas.
But, in order to target accurately, the Army needs to be able to “see” thousands of miles to locate what it is shooting at.
“Right now, we have a challenge with sensing deep in the United States Army. The chief’s No. 1 priority for modernization is long-range precision fires,” Maj. Gen. Robert Walters, commander of the Intelligence Center of Excellence, said during a presentation March 26 at the AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
Brig. Gen. Jennifer Buckner, director of cyber within the Army’s G-3/5/7, told an audience at a March 21 AFCEA conference in National Harbor that the need to see long ranges means sensing where missiles are firing, but also viewing activity in the virtual space.