DECEMBER 11, 2024 – On December 6, 2024, 3-43 Air Defense Artillery Battalion; Army Test and Evaluation Command and Program Executive Office Missiles and Space successfully executed two operational assessment missile flight tests sequentially.
The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor successfully detected, tracked, and classified Short Range Ballistic Missile and Low Altitude Cruise Missile threat surrogates while combined with the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, which determined engagement solutions.
The sequential engagements were conducted using a mixed load of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors.
The interceptors successfully engaged the threat surrogates utilizing data from the sensor’s primary sector array while operating in a 360° surveillance mode.
LTAMDS is designed to detect and defeat advanced threats, including hypersonic and ballistic weapons.
The system has a primary array on the front and two secondary arrays on the back, providing 360-degree coverage.
It can simultaneously detect and engage multiple targets from any direction. LTAMDS is intended to replace the Patriot radar.
Story by Darrell Ames
Program Executive Office Missiles and Space