New radars and interceptors are headed to soldiers for testing in 2024 as the Army seeks to upgrade its air defense capabilities. After decades of relying on limited short-range air defense and Patriot batteries with technology dating to the early 1980s, the Army has pushed resources into new systems to defeat the growing threat of enemy missiles and drones. The radar set to replace the current Patriot radar system, known as the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), defeated a cruise missile threat in a successful missile flight test against a cruise missile threat surrogate at White Sands Missile Range on Nov. 16, 2023. The LTAMDS can detect and defeat threats from all directions, an improvement on sectioned radars of the past.
In the test, the LTAMDS detected and tracked a projectile mimicking the speeds and maneuverability of a cruise missile, and passed data to the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System, which operates as the “brains” of the entire air defense complex. The LTAMDS system reached initial operational capability at the end of 2023 and will continue testing in 2024, with full operational capability expected by the end of 2024. Additionally, the Army is improving its air defense striking capabilities through the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC), which can hold 18 AIM-9X missiles in the launcher.
The Army also plans to launch a second interceptor program that will replace the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile, with the expectation that the interceptor will be fielded between 2025 and 2030.
