Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brad Mincey | The "eye" of a missile is pointed towards the sky from an Avenger Weapons System.... read more read more
SAVANNAH, Ga. – "When 9/11 happened, a need arose to defend against air attacks," said Lt. Col. Timothy Sheriff, Operations Officer for the 263rd Army/Air Missile Defense Command. "Its objectives were to be readily deployable, able to prosecute live-fly tracks, and exercise functionality. And today, we have the Deployable-Integrated Air Defense System."
While Soldiers, Airmen and other personnel continued their training on the D-IADS, commanders and civilians had the opportunity to view the military's best system for protecting the homeland at the Combined Readiness Training Center at Fort Stewart, Ga. during Ardent Sentry 2010, May 21. The joint force is an interagency operation that includes Army and Air National Guard, Coast Guard, Navy and more than 20 other agencies.
"This is the final field training event to establish the operational capabilities of the system," said Sheriff. "It's a culminating event of a three-year joint test for the joint air defense of the homeland."
The system incorporates the Sentinel Radar System and the Avenger Weapons System to provide short range missile defense to high value targets or targets that may be under terrorist threat.
"This is some of the most high-tech equipment in the military," said Warrant Officer James Suber, 263rd AAMDC, from Anderson, S.C. "We're here today to show the community what we can do and how we are protecting them. We understand how important it is to protect the homeland and our interests around the world."
The Sentinel Radar System can pick up a variety of targets, from people and boats to manned and unmanned aircraft. The radar is able to track targets out to 40 kilometers and is an integral part of the equipment and personnel that make up the D-IADS.
If the Sentinel is the sensory organ of this animal, the sting comes from the second part of the D-IADS, the Avenger Weapons System. This is a small, fast missile system that can be emplaced quickly for homeland defense and is able to take out a variety of targets.
"Our main mission is against low-level flying aircraft," said Sgt. Matthew Stauffer,
263rd Army/Air Missile Defense Command. "We have a wide variety of possible targets as long as they are short range."
The D-IADS can handle situations anywhere in the U.S. where tactical action might be required.
"This event showcases the capability of a short, or no notice Deployable-Integrated Air Defense System event," said Sheriff.
According to Stauffer, this is the first-of-its-kind, minimum deployment package, able to protect the homeland in an emergency, and be a show of force around an area where there may be a terrorist threat.
"We will be brought in to provide short range missile defense at high-level events like summits or anywhere world leaders might gather or anywhere where there might be a terrorist threat," said Stauffer. "Just having this is a force multiplier, because before, there was no group like this one that was mobile and could protect from short-range threats. Now, we can be utilized quickly, anywhere in the U.S."
With this system in the hands of the National Guard and other cooperative agencies, Citizen Soldiers are always at the ready to protect the homeland.
"We train on the system, on setting up sites and at engaging tracks. We train to be the best we can be at our job because in the middle of the night, when we get a phone call and have to be somewhere in a few hours, we have to be ready to go at a moment's notice," said Stauffer.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2010 10:16 |
| Story ID: | 50647 |
| Location: | SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 316 |
| Downloads: | 184 |
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