The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced a new initiative to partner with security agencies to advance multi-domain operations, specifically to improve teamwork in regards to air operations, Heidi Grant, DSCA director said on Thursday.
"To effectively build a partnership and team in air operations, we work with our allies to bring them into a multi-domain environment," Grant said. "In this era of renewed great power competition, our adversaries will not be operating in singular land, air or sea domains. They will be operating in multi-domain environments to include cyber and space."
Grant added that the agency should work to operationalize a multi-domain approach to enable more effective air-power teaming. The DSCA team has worked actively with geographic combatant commands, military departments and the U.S. defense industry to ensure defense sales are more holistic, as well as monitor international competitions to create further opportunities to expand the use of U.S. platforms with allies and partners.
"We're doing our best to lean forward with new emerging technologies to ensure we have a determination on release in advance of actual system deployment by the U.S. military forces," she said. "I think this has been one of the complaints of FMS … we think about the U.S. first, and we don't think about our allies and partners in advance," Grant said.
Grant was appointed to her new role as DSCA director in July 2020, succeeding LTG Charles Hooper, who has led DSCA since August 2017 and is a former Wash100 Award recipient. She previously served as director of resources at U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Central Command and budget analyst for the office of the undersecretary of defense for comptroller.
About DSCA
DSCA provides program and financial management support for the Department of Defense’s foreign military sales program, offers execution guidance to DoD entities implementing security cooperation initiatives and supports security cooperation workforce development efforts.
