Jerry Petersen
RTX business Raytheon, in partnership with the U.S. Army, recently conducted a live fire demonstration of the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, the next-generation air and missile defense radar of the military service.
RTX said Wednesday that the demo saw LTAMDS acquire and track a tactical ballistic missile surrogate, hand off tracking data to the Integrated Battle Command System, then guide a PATRIOT Advanced Capability – 3 Cost Reduction Initiative missile launched by the IBCS to intercept the target.
The demo comes on the heels of a live fire test that took place in November, where LTAMDS tracked and intercepted a cruise missile.
Concerning the demos, Army Col. Jason Tate, manager of the Search, Track, Acquire, Radiate, Eliminate project office at Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, said, “With each test, we’re putting the radar up against realistic threats that our forces could face on the battlefield. And with each success, we see capability improvement for this transformational radar.”
RTX received a $384 million contract in 2019 to build and test six LTAMDS prototypes for the Army. Those systems are currently undergoing integration and testing at multiple sites.
