Italian Air Force Brig. Gen. Alessandro Pera Feb. 1 took over as the new head of the Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) Program Office, succeeding retired Brig. Gen. Michel Billard.
Pera will continue developing a NATO defense against theater ballistic missile attacks on its forces, and will field a first capability this year.
Before joining ALTBMD, Pera was deputy assistant chief of staff of the Italian air force where he was in charge of C4I and transformation.
Pera will handle the delivery of the interim ALTBMD capability. ALTBMD will be built in increments with the progressive addition of new missile defense capabilities in NATO command and control systems, as new national weapon systems, such as radars and interceptors are made available to NATO. It will be the only system that can integrate all alliance TBM defenses.
Additionally, the TMD program has provided technical support to policy discussions on broader missile defnse questions about the protection of NATO territory and population centers.
Two major test events are planned in May and December to verify that the program has met the minimum military requirements.
Also, prototypes of future capabilities will participate in a major exercise in the Netherlands in July.