Defense News:
WASHINGTON — The Army is racing to get a new medium-range air-and-missile defense radar far ahead of previous expectations, according to the Army’s chief in charge of acquisition.
The service has been aiming to get a radar capable of detecting threats from 360 degrees around to replace its aging Patriot radar for many years. Originally an entire system was meant to replace Patriot, but the Army walked back on those plans roughly 10 years ago to separately develop components of a new Integrated Air and Missile Defense system (IAMD) to include an advanced, next-generation radar.
Critics over the years have said the service was moving far too slowly on procuring a new radar with 360-degree capability as several next-generation radar offerings are reach high levels of technology readiness. Congress has also urged the Army to speed up the process, mandating that it procure something in the next five years.
Because the Army has decided to make AMD one of its top modernization priorities, the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor has become a high priority.
