U.S. Army Col. Tom Noble, deputy commanding officer of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, and British Army Maj. Ben Johnston, a G-5 plans officer and U.K. exchange officer with the command, addressed military leaders, allies, partners and defense industry representatives. Their message focused on the need to integrate, test and deliver new technology to Soldiers quickly enough to affect operations.
“One of our most acute challenges here is simple to state: Are the assumptions behind our plans and the resources that we’ve committed to them still valid against the enemy and how they actually choose to fight?” Noble said. The presentation was titled “Innovation at the Edge: Operationalizing the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative.”
The discussion focused on how the Army, NATO allies and industry can better connect sensors, shooters, networks and decision-makers across the alliance. Eurosatory is being held from June 15 to 19 at the Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center.
For the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, the exhibition provided a forum to explain operational needs to industry. Noble said speed, interoperability and practical field testing are essential as adversaries adapt quickly.
“This risk is not theoretical,” Noble said. “It’s actually playing out currently in multiple theaters where adversaries are using conflict as a live incubator to refine their capabilities on a daily basis.”
Noble cited saturation attacks, drone swarms, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles as threats that are changing how air defenders think about magazine depth, sensor integration and engagement authority. He said Ukraine has shown the vulnerability of static assets, the value of passive defense and the need for rapid innovation at the forward edge.
“This is a warning that we must begin to outpace their adaptation just as quickly as they are,” Noble said. “We cannot wait for the next conflict to absorb these lessons. We must act now.”
The Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative is intended to strengthen deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank. It focuses on integrating uncrewed systems, live data, mission command networks and layered defenses so allied forces can see first, decide faster and strike with scalable effects.
For the 10th AAMDC, the initiative is linked directly to its role in Europe and Africa. The command coordinates, executes and sustains combined and joint integrated air and missile defense operations across the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility.
Noble said the command’s position between the air and land domains and between U.S., NATO, allied and partner forces gives it a unique perspective. He said that position helps identify operational gaps and refine emerging capabilities.
Johnston said the challenge is not simply acquiring new systems. He said those systems must work together across nations, formations and domains.
“Joint is hard, multinational is much harder,” Johnston said. “When you think about an alliance framework, not just language, but also technical standards and all the other standards that are not quite met by nation to nation, that in itself provides a big challenge.”
Johnston said EFDI is built around decision dominance, the land contribution to deterrence, acquiring required capabilities, sustaining the force and interoperability. He said those goals require networks that can move data quickly enough to support decisions at the tactical edge.
“Multi-domain is now, it’s not next,” Johnston said. “It’s not a future concept; it’s a current operating environment.”
Johnston said integrated networks, open architecture systems and data sharing among allies and partners are essential to EFDI. Without them, units may have advanced sensors or effectors but lack the ability to move the right information to the Soldier or system that needs it.
“To integrate, we require open architecture systems,” Johnston said. “The days of proprietary firewalls can no longer be sustained, and we must be able to ingest all-domain data in real time.”
One example is Digital Shield, which brings U.S. Soldiers, allied forces and civilian defense contractors together to assess emerging counter-unmanned aerial system technologies. Johnston described it as a way to close gaps between sensors, data and short-range air defense systems.
“The original concept was a way of moving data faster from various sensors into the right effector,” Johnston said. The effort is intended to bring commercial counter-drone systems into a scalable, single integrated air picture that supports EFDI.
Project Flytrap and Project Bullfrog are also part of the experimentation framework. Project Flytrap has brought together military units, procurement officials and vendors to test counter-drone technologies against realistic threats, while Project Bullfrog has supported assessment of emerging technologies and direct feedback from air defenders.
“Capabilities are tools,” Johnston said. “A capability sitting in isolation is not a solution. Integration and networking are the areas that deliver the most effect.”
The discussion stressed that new drones, sensors, radars, interceptors and software tools only help when connected to a wider architecture. That architecture must support command and control, targetable data and disciplined engagement decisions.
“The greatest thing that you can do is keep building new capabilities out there for us to test,” Noble said in response to an audience question. “Just today, I’ve only been here for about four hours and I’ve seen so many great and new ideas that are out there that I would love to see at Bullfrog, at Flytrap, at Digital Shield.”
Noble said the command is seeking capabilities that can be tested, validated and moved to the warfighter. He said those capabilities could support operations in the U.S. European Command theater or other operational environments.
“We would never be able to achieve that fusion of data without the proactiveness of our industry partners,” Johnston said. “The ability of industry to produce great kits, but also to show the adaptability to work with us as a team sport,” is essential.
The presentation ended with five imperatives: integrate, proliferate, disperse and deceive, sustain, and interoperate. Johnston said these describe what allied forces and industry must do together to build a force able to survive and win in contested environments.
For Noble, the discussion reflected the speed at which threats are adapting in Europe. He said deterrence depends on whether the alliance can adapt faster.
EFDI, Digital Shield, Project Bullfrog and the Flytrap series were presented as connected efforts rather than separate projects. Noble said they link battlefield lessons, industry innovation and Soldier feedback into capabilities that can strengthen NATO’s eastern flank.
The goal is to give Soldiers at the edge what they need to detect threats, make decisions and act before an adversary can impose its will. The speakers said innovation is already underway in Europe through cooperation among Soldiers, allies, partners and industry.
