Pacific Air Forces recently kicked off operations of the Pacific Integrated Air and Missile Defense Center at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, announced the command. The center is modeled on facilities already in use in US Central Command’s and US European Command’s respective areas of responsibilities. It gives US forces the ability to boost air and missile defense cooperation with friends and allies in the Asia-Pacific region, including training and educating them in operations and planning, states the PACAF release. PACAF boss Gen. Lori Robinson oversees the center. She’s said enhanced IAMD cooperation is one of her top priorities, according to the release. Once the center is fully operational, it will host seminars, exercises, and information-sharing events, and will disseminate doctrine, tactics, techniques, procedures, and lessons learned among the partners nations.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 trillion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…