WASHINGTON — The Army is putting the finishing touches on a new air and missile defense strategy, with plans to add several new battalions, building on lessons learned from conflicts fueled by the proliferation of Iranian armed drones in the Middle East and Ukraine, a top commander said Tuesday.

“We are taking stock of lessons learned from the field, the increased options that artificial intelligence and advanced technology present, and we are getting back to the basics — remembering mass has a quantity of its own,” Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, the head of the US Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, said at a conference held in Huntsville, Alabama.

Why it matters: The Army plans to add an additional three Patriot battalions, for a total of 18, amid what defense officials have described as “heel-to-toe” deployment cycles to the Middle East and the Pacific that have strained already tight maintenance demands. 

The Army plans to equip those battalions with new Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS) — designed to significantly expand the Patriots’ radar capabilities and address troublesome gaps — while standing up five new battalions for its Indirect Fire Protection Capability System (IFPC), which is designed to knock down mortars, rockets, drones and cruise missiles using AIM-9X missiles.