The US Army’s new Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), designed to replace the Patriot radar, has cleared multiple milestones during a recent missile flight test at White Sands Missile Range.
During the trial, the system detected, tracked, and classified an air-breathing surrogate target through the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), which then directed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhanced interceptor to engage the simulated threat.
The event marked several firsts: the integration of a Large Tactical Power System with LTAMDS, successful detection and engagement of an air-breathing target using its secondary sector array, and the use of low-rate initial production (LRIP) IBCS hardware.
This progress comes after RTX received approval in April to begin LRIP of LTAMDS. The Army has since announced plans to field up to four additional Patriot battalions with the new radar, enhancing defense against cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, short-range ballistic missiles, and drones.
