Sheila Vemmer/ Defense News Media Group Air Force Col. Patrick “Bull” Sheets is deputy director of the Joint Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization.

With U.S. Strategic Command controlling overall defense against ballistic and cruise missiles, the main thrust will be to close any seam in developing strategies and equipment to combat the two threats, said U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick “Bull” Sheets, deputy director of the Joint Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization (JTAMDO).

There’s little overlap when it comes to detection and engagement of ballistic or cruise missiles, Sheets said April 27 at the 2006 Cruise Missile & IED Defense Conference, sponsored by Defense News Media Group, in Arlington, Va.

“But there is when it comes to platforms carrying the sensors and weapons,” he said.

Sheets said cruise missiles do present their own unique set of problems.

It’s often hard to detect the terrain-hugging missiles that have a low radar cross-section, he said.

“Cruise missiles are difficult to identify,” he said. “They do not have a unique signature. They look like almost any other aircraft.”

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