US Army ships its newest air-defense tech to units in Asia, Europe

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army plans to send major elements of its most modernized air and missile defense capabilities to the Pacific and European theaters, according to Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for missiles and space.

For example, the service will send two of its Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors, or LTAMDS, to Guam, Lozano told Defense News in an exclusive interview at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

Additionally, the Army will send an Indirect Fire Protection Capability platoon with prototype launchers to South Korea and will also send some of its Integrated Battle Command System capability to Europe to modernize a Patriot air defense battalion there.

Lozano had been tasked by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to examine the possibility of sending new air and missile defense capabilities still in the prototype phase to global hotspots.

Both the Raytheon-developed LTAMDS and Leidos’ Dynetics-made IFPC have seen successful test events over the past year, leading to George’s push for testing advanced technology in real-life formations even before the development phase has formally concluded.

LTAMDS is nearing a production decision and will then go into initial operational test and evaluation that will wrap up in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. Another LTAMDS radar will be sent to Guam in 2027, which will put three of the powerful, 360-degree radars on the island as part of complete air and missile defense architecture there.

The Army is taking its two best performing prototypes, which are now being spruced up after developmental testing with Raytheon, and will begin preparing to ship the radars to Guam in May. They should arrive in June, Lozano said.

The service developed LTAMDS to replace the current radar in Patriot air and missile defense systems, improving its detection and discrimination capability and giving it the ability to see threats from 360 degrees.

The IFPC platoon will go to South Korea to help the Army work on concepts to create a composite air- and missile-defense battalion. This effort is being led by Brig. Gen. Pat Costello, commander of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in the Pacific theater.

The IFPC system is designed to detect, track and defeat cruise missiles and drones as well as rockets, artillery and mortars at fixed and semi-fixed sites. It currently fires AIM-9X missiles but the Army is pursuing alternative interceptor options.

The Army is also taking some of its pre-low-rate initial production IBCS capability, which is a new command-and-control system for the service’s Patriot air and missile defense system, to modernize the 5-7 Patriot Air Defense Battalion in the 10th AAMDC in Europe.

IBCS equipment is now on a ship and will arrive next month, Lozano said.

While this is the first IBCS capability to be received by a unit outside of the United States, Poland was the first to get the system for its own Patriot forces in 2023.

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔——据导弹与太空项目执行官弗兰克·洛萨诺少将称，美国陆军计划将其最先进的防空和导弹防御能力的主要部分派往太平洋和欧洲战区。

例如，该军种将向关岛派遣两套低层防空导弹防御传感器（LTAMDS），洛萨诺在阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔的红石兵工厂接受《防务新闻》独家采访时表示。

此外，陆军还将向韩国派遣一个配备原型发射器的间接火力防护能力排，并将部分综合作战指挥系统能力送往欧洲，以现代化当地的爱国者防空营。

陆军参谋长兰迪·乔治将军曾委派洛萨诺研究将仍处于原型阶段的新型防空和导弹防御能力派往全球热点地区的可能性。

雷神公司开发的 LTAMDS 和 Leidos 公司 Dynetics 制造的 IFPC 在过去一年中都进行了成功的测试，这促使乔治推动在开发阶段正式结束之前，就在现实生活中对先进技术进行测试。

LTAMDS即将做出生产决定，随后将进入初始作战测试和评估阶段，该阶段将于2026财年第四季度结束。另一部LTAMDS雷达将于2027年运往关岛，届时该岛将拥有三部功能强大的360度雷达，作为当地完整的防空和导弹防御体系的一部分。

陆军将把两台性能最佳的原型机运往关岛。这两台原型机在与雷神公司完成研发测试后正在进行升级改造。陆军将于5月开始准备将雷达运往关岛，预计6月抵达，洛萨诺说。

该军种开发了 LTAMDS 来取代爱国者防空导弹系统中的现有雷达，提高了其探测和识别能力，并使其能够从 360 度范围内发现威胁。

IFPC排将前往韩国，协助陆军制定组建一支综合防空反导营的方案。这项工作由太平洋战区第94陆军防空反导司令部司令帕特·科斯特洛准将领导。

IFPC系统旨在探测、跟踪并拦截固定和半固定阵地上的巡航导弹、无人机、火箭弹、火炮和迫击炮弹。该系统目前发射AIM-9X导弹，但陆军正在寻求其他拦截方案。

陆军还将一些低速初始生产前的 IBCS 能力（这是陆军“爱国者”防空导弹系统的新型指挥控制系统）用于现代化欧洲第 10 AAMDC 的第 5-7“爱国者”防空营。

洛萨诺说，IBCS 设备现在已经装船，将于下个月抵达。

虽然这是美国以外的部队首次获得 IBCS 能力，但波兰是第一个在 2023 年为其爱国者部队获得该系统的国家。

珍·贾德森是一位屡获殊荣的记者，为《防务新闻》报道陆地战争。她也曾为《政治报》和《内幕防务》工作。她拥有波士顿大学新闻学硕士学位和凯尼恩学院文学学士学位。