In response to Russian and Chinese war threats, the U.S. Army debuted its new Air and Missile Defense framework, or AMD, on March 27 that will pursue multimission units and counter hypersonic missile or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks, the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Commander told Defense News in an interview during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium.

Lt. Gen. James Dickinson said AMD would provide synchronized efforts to execute multi-domain operations, defend the country for emerging threats and succeed in future operational environments.

Top objectives of the new strategy include ensuring AMD forces can protect ground forces and defend critical assets on the modern battlefield and in the homeland. AMD forces are designed to help “create windows of superiority” in the air, so those infantry units have the ability to commandeer enemy territory successfully, Defense News said.

AMD forces align with the Army’s 2028 goal of modernized forces executing multidomain operations.

“Our vision is that the AMD force of 2028 will provide the combatant commanders with a flexible, agile, and integrated AMD force capable of executing multi-domain operations and defending the homeland, regional joint and coalition forces, and critical assets in support of unified land operations,” said Lt. Gen. Dickinson. “To do this, we will execute four lines of effort. We will modernize and develop AMD capabilities; build AMD capacity for multi-domain operations; provide trained and ready AMD forces; and maintain forward presence and build allied and partner capacity.”

AMD also erects the next generation Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense, or LTAMD, sensor as the replacement for the MIM-104 Patriot missile system.

The Army will continue developing Indirect Fire Protection Capability, or IFPC, that provides short-range defense against rockets, artillery, and mortars as well as hypersonic missiles and drones.

The service is also developing Short Range Air Defense, or M-SHORAD, that addresses an important capability gap in the European theater.

AMD is expected to link all of the service's defense and missile systems into an integrated command system.

The strategy is expected to add directed-energy weapon systems to aircraft and ground vehicles to protect ground forces against rocket, artillery, mortar and drone threats.

The Army's last AMD strategy was in 2012, according to Lt. Gen. Dickinson.

In the last five years, the threat of hypersonic missiles and drone attacks have sent American war planners back to the drawing boards. With AMD, the framework is now in place to develop a missile system that can not just protect American allies and troops on the modern battlefield, but protect critical assets in the homeland in the event of war.