The Architect Behind Modern Missile Defense

William Cook is one of the few engineers in U.S. defense history whose authored system architectures still define how American and allied missile defense forces coordinate, respond, and survive in combat.

A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, William spent four decades leading the design of advanced command-and-control systems—including the original functional architectures for THAAD BM/C3I, MEADS BM/C4I, and IBCS. He led the Patriot C3 software modernization at Raytheon in the late 1980s, supporting capabilities used in Desert Storm, and served as Chief Engineer of the THAAD Battle Management System while at Litton Data Systems.

As founder and lead system engineer of ISR, William helped guide the development of distributed sensor fusion technologies based on the very operational principles he pioneered—earning multiple SBIR awards and U.S. patents in the process. With unmatched insight into the intersection of battlefield operations, software architecture, and national security systems, he now advises startups, investors, and defense innovators building what comes next.