TMD is inherently a joint mission, while this may be clearly obvious to some, many others may incorrectly understand TMD to simply consist of Army Patriot. Therefore, it's appropriate to offer a general doctrinal description of TMD from which to proceed. The purpose of TMD is to counter the theater missile threat, (ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and air-to-surface missiles), by integrating the four operational elements of TMD. The elements are; passive defense, active defense, attack operations, and TMD C4I. While they can be performed independently, the operational elements are intended to be mutually supporting in order to best negate an adversaries missile capability. More appropriately stated, '...this threat can only be countered by the synergistic performance achieved by coordinating and integrating all four operational elements.' At the most basic level, one can envision how each service might contribute to this effort. Starting with passive defense, service components attempt to harden their facilities and develop an effective early warning network. Army Patriot units then provide active defense by engaging incoming missiles. Special Operations Forces, along with Air Force, Navy, and Marine fighters, conduct attack operations by attempting to locate and destroy enemy missile sites.
Cracks in the Pillar: TMD Command and Control for the Joint Force Commander
2003
21 pages
Report
No indication
English
Antimissile Defense Systems , Air & Space-Launched Missiles , Command and control systems , Joint military activities , Theater missile defense , Guided missiles , Air force , Theater level operations , Active defense , Networks , Threats , Attack , Cruise missiles , Missions , Jet fighters , Surface to air missiles , Enemy , Army , Air to surface missiles , Synergism , Early warning systems , Passive defense , Launching sites , Special operations forces
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