Changes Cut Planning Time for Missile Defense
 Changes to how the Army and Air Force handle missile threats has cut the planning cycle from hours to minutes, Army Brig. Gen. Francis Mahon said on April 28.
Instead of focusing on a pure Army or Air Force response to a missile threat, Mahon wants a joint solution, using the best assets on hand.
Threat of Cruise Missiles Launched From Commercial Ships a ‘Front-Burner’ Issue
 The threat of U.S. cities being attacked by cruise missiles launched from commercial ships is becoming a “front-burner” issue in Washington, said a Missile Defense Agency official.
The threat first identified by the 1998 Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, also known as the Rumsfeld Commission, led by Donald Rumsfeld, has been on the back-burner for a while but is now assuming importance with Congress asking for more studies and the MDA showing strong interest in the threat, said Ben Stubenberg, chief of analysis and scenarios at the MDA.
Army’s Top Technical Priority: Defeating IEDs
 Defeating improvised explosive devices is the Army’s most important research and development effort, one of the service’s top technology officials said April 28.
“It is job one,” Brig Gen. R. Mark Brown said during a speech to the Defense News Media Group Cruise Missile & IED Defense Conference in Arlington, Va.
Intelligence on Cruise Missiles, IEDs Must Be Aggressively Distributed
 Intelligence on cruise missiles and improvised explosive devices must be aggressively distributed to the lowest tactical level, the Air Force’s number two information-technology official said April 28.
“[Air operations centers] are nice. But you know what? They ain’t the guys at risk,” David Tillotson III said during the 2006 Cruise Missile & IED Defense Conference: Joint Engagement of Time-Critical Air & Ground Targets, sponsored by the Defense News Media Group, in Arlington, Va..
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