Hunter keynotes GA-ASI - Hudson Institute Conference on UAV role in BMD against NoKo

Ballistic Missile Defense Conference Held at GA-ASI


SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In late July the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, organized a two-day conference on countering the ballistic missile threat from North Korea. The conference was held on July 26-27, 2017 at the headquarters of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) in Poway, Calif.

The conference, titled “The Role of Unmanned Platforms in Ballistic Missile Defense: From Persistent Surveillance to Boost-Phase Intercept,” brought together leading experts on ballistic missile defense and advanced aerospace systems from the United States and Japan. The conference’s organizer was Dr. Arthur Herman, Hudson Institute senior fellow and Pulitzer Prize Finalist historian and policy analyst. He said:

“The defense of the United States against a North Korean missile threat has to begin over the Sea of Japan. Japan will be one of America’s most important partners in developing a missile defense system that prevents a North Korean launch from ever reaching our shores. At the same time, armed unmanned aerial vehicles may represent the best way to stop a missile attack before it leaves North Korean airspace.”

Itsunori Onodera, Japan’s Defense Minister

Congressman Duncan L. Hunter,

Keynote addresses were given by

• Itsunori Onodera, who has since been appointed as Japan’s Defense Minister, and
• Congressman Duncan L. Hunter, former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and Representative, California, 52nd District.

Other speakers included

• Vice Admiral Robert Thomas (Ret.), former Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet; Senior Research Fellow Institute on Global Confict and Cooperation University of California, Berkeley San Diego, California
• Masao Akiyama, senior vice president, IHI Inc.;
• Mr. Michael Del Rosso, vice president, The American Strategy Group;
• Dr. Leonard Caveny, former science and technology director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization; and
• Dr. Kenneth Weinstein, president and CEO Hudson Institute.

Related/Background:

• NRC_missile_defense.pdf 
• spendergast: Pair of Predator UAV track BMD Target at Pacific Dragon with MTS-C EO/IR 
• Predator Bs Tested for Ballistic Missile Defense | Defense News: Aviation International News
•  MDA - Potential New Technologies
•  Japan military 'needs marines and drones' - BBC News
•  Japan ready to protect Guam, defense minister says | Fox News
•  Ballistic Missile Defense Conference Held at GA-ASI
•  Report-22The-Drone-Revolution-Revisited22-.pdf
•  North Korea Missile Threat: The Best Way to Stop Kim Jong-Un - by Arthur Herman
•  We Can Defang the North Korean Threat - by Arthur Herman
•  US Missile Defense: Closing the Gap - by Richard Weitz
•  spendergast: Grey Eagle UAV Deployment
•  Agreement will allow U.S. to fly long-range surveillance drones from base in Japan - The Washington Post
• Ballistic Missile Defense Conference Held at GA-ASI | Business Wire
• ICYMI - Rep. Wilson Discusses North Korean Threat with Hudson Institute | Representative Joe Wilson