Inside Defense:
The Army’s Initial Maneuver-Short-Range Air Defense system is one of the service’s first steps to bring back systems it has allowed to “atrophy,” according to the deputy chief of staff (G-9). Rickey Smith said at a Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance event today that an IM-SHORAD system mounted on the Stryker vehicle is the Army’s closest route to bridging the gap in that arena.
“We took short-range air defense down to a very, very small capacity, and we limited it,” he said. “So after a decade and a half more, we need to revitalize that.”
Smith said the service is moving forward on the force structure to support IM-SHORAD by growing SHORAD battalions into the active Army. The Army expects to award Leonardo DRS a prototype contract for the IM-SHORAD mission equipment package in August.
