Mark Messmer Asks EUCOM Commander If Missile Defense Architecture Should Be Activated In Europe

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During a House Armed Services Committee hearing held before the congressional recess, Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) questioned Military officials about the Golden Dome defense system in Europe.

Transcript

00:00I thank the gentlelady, Chair, and I recognize the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Mesmer.

00:05Thank you, Chairman.

00:06General Cavoli, in dealing with U.S. missile defense and President Trump's Golden Dome

00:10executive order, what may not be known is that Europe already has a U.S.-provided Golden

00:15Dome in the form of the Aegis ashore sites in Romania and Poland.

00:20These missile defense systems have performed well in the Middle East, but the Aegis air

00:24defense functionality in Europe is not activated due to regional political concerns.

00:29Assuming the willingness of Russia to deploy novel hypersonic weapons in Ukraine, is it

00:35your best military advice that we activate these air defense capabilities to counter that

00:39threat?

00:40Sir, I have, as the Supreme Allied Commander, made that recommendation to the North Atlantic

00:45Council.

00:47Also, can you explain how the missile defense architecture that we've invested in Europe

00:51could protect the U.S. homeland?

00:53Oh, sure.

00:55Some of the radars involved provide some of the very first warnings, and there's quite

01:02a bit more, but I think I'd be more comfortable discussing it in a closed session, sir.

01:06Fair enough.

01:07Okay.

01:08Given the U.S. increase of drone threats to critical infrastructure military bases in Europe,

01:13how is EUCOM planning to integrate directed energy technologies into its counter-drone defense?

01:20First of all, we're eager to do that, Congressman, because a lot of the other kinetic solutions

01:27are pretty problematic to use in congested areas and bases that are in congested areas.

01:34We're planning to use a layered defense and a full suite of different capabilities, some

01:39of them electromagnetic interference, some of them directed energy, as you said, some of

01:43them just kinetic projectiles.

01:46It's important to remember that we've got to do that in close connection to civil authorities

01:51from the host nation, and each nation has different regulations for spectrum management,

01:58for the release of weapons and things like that, so we work through this daily.

02:02It's a pretty big initiative.

02:03Would that be a more cost-effective countermeasure to some of the million-dollar missiles that we

02:11use to shoot data?

02:12E?

02:13Yes, sir.

02:14I mean, I think everybody's looking for that new way to shoot down aerial objects that

02:18doesn't require us to launch multi-million-dollar missiles at a thousand-dollar drone type of

02:23thing.

02:24Very good.

02:25In my district in southwest Indiana, General Cavoli, the crane army ammunition activity mission,

02:33where nearly 25 percent of the DOD's conventional munitions are stored.

02:36A large amount of equipment and munitions stored there has been withdrawn via the presidential

02:40drawdown authority and sent to Ukraine.

02:44How important is it from a combat commander's perspective that we modernize and restock these

02:48munitions storage facilities?

02:50Our stockage levels are extremely important to a combat commander, sir, and to the extent

02:56that they're depleted by operations or by donations to another country such as Ukraine, they need

03:02to be replenished.

03:04There is a program to do that, well, well-funded previously by the Congress, and it's an important

03:09thing for us to consider.

03:11Okay.

03:13Also, General Cavoli, spectrum is a valuable, finite resource that's used by the DOD.

03:19There are some in Congress who want to require the DOD to vacate its spectrum allocations.

03:23Could you speak to what the impact would be on EUCOM if the DOD was forced to vacate the

03:29spectrum allocations and what would be the effects on missile defense?

03:32Yes, sir.

03:34So I think most of the discussion is around the S-band, and we use that.

03:41I could go in a little bit more detail in classified session, although I'm not exactly an electrical

03:47engineer, but I could talk to you more about it in classified session.

03:50It would affect missile defense and air defense.

03:53That would affect the potential for defending our country in Europe and the continental U.S.

03:59as well.

04:00Okay.

04:01Okay.

04:02That's right.

04:03Very good.

04:04I'll yield back the rest of my time.

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