Defense News – The U.S. Army’s competition for a new air and missile defense radar has begun with the release of a request for proposals asking for prototypes.
The request, posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website on May 14, comes as the Army for well over a decade has struggled to procure a new radar for its integrated air and missile defense system meant to replace the Patriot AMD system.
The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, program had a slow and indecisive start. But ever since air and missile defense became a top modernization priority for the Army under the new Army Futures Command, the service has moved forward to launch a competition.
The Raytheon-made Patriot radar was first fielded in the 1980s, and the Army attempted to replace the system with Lockheed Martin’s Medium Extended Air Defense System through an international co-development effort with Germany and Italy. But that program was canceled in the U.S. after closing out a proof-of-concept phase roughly six years ago.
