The U.S. Army’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability System completed a risk-reduction flight demonstration, launching a Raytheon-made AIM-9X Sidewinder interceptor. This was sent to a target, developer Dynetics announced. IFPC is designed to protect fixed and semi-fixed sites from rockets, artillery and mortars, and will enter the Army’s developmental test program beginning in January 2024. A simulated Integrated Battle Command System interface was also used as part of the test. IBCS is meant to connect air and missile defense sensors and shooters on the battlefield and will serve as the command-and-control system for IFPC.
Now that the risk reduction demonstration is complete, the first set of 12 launchers will enter the Army’s developmental test program beginning in January. An operational assessment is planned for later in the year. “This is a major milestone for our team to cross,” Larry Barisciano, Dynetics’ weapon systems operations manager, said in the statement.
The program has previously experienced delays and was reformulated in 2019 to ensure it could fend off rising cruise missiles and drone threats. The Army had originally planned to develop and field its own multi-mission launcher as part of the enduring IFPC solution, but canceled that program in late 2019 in favor of a more technologically mature launcher.
Dynetics won a $247 million contract in September 2021 to build a total of 16 prototype launchers for the Army’s enduring IFPC system, and the service was still expecting to receive the first set of launchers by the start of 2024. The Army will soon begin the process to competitively acquire a second interceptor, making it a true multi-mission system, and is seeking to include funding in its five-year budget plan to begin development of the second interceptor.
