Raytheon, an RTX business, and the US Army have concluded a successful live-fire demonstration of the advanced, 360-degree Lower Tier Air and Missile Defence Sensor (LTAMDS).
This marks a milestone in the development and testing of the LTAMDS programme, which is moving towards the fielding of full sector capability later this year.
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The latest exercise, the fifth in a series of increasingly complex tests, was designed to demonstrate the radar’s performance and its integration with the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).
The first live-fire test took place in October last year.
During the latest test, a tactical ballistic missile surrogate was launched at high speed and long-range, simulating a real-world threat.
LTAMDS acquired and tracked the target, passed track data to IBCS, and guided a PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missile to intercept the threat.
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By GlobalDataRaytheon Land and Air Defense Systems president Tom Laliberty said: “The progression of the LTAMDS programme has been remarkable – from a sense-off and contract award in 2019, successful testing in 2023, to the programme’s planned entry into production early in 2025 – that is unprecedented for a new development programme.”
In 2019, Raytheon secured a contract with the US Army to deliver six production-representative units of the LTAMDS under an ‘Other Transactional Authority’ agreement.
The LTAMDS programme is currently progressing, with the first six prototype units undergoing simultaneous testing and integration at multiple Raytheon and army test sites.
Designed to defeat advanced and next-generation threats, the LTAMDS features three antenna arrays: a primary array at the front and two secondary arrays at the back.
These arrays work in unison to detect and engage multiple threats from any direction simultaneously.
The programme is expected to achieve Milestone C, the official transition from development to production, in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
More than a dozen countries have requested information and briefings about the LTAMDS.
In October 2023, the Polish defence minister signed a letter of acceptance with the US Army for 12 radars.
Through this foreign military sale, Poland will become the first international customer to integrate the LTAMDS radar into its air and missile defence architecture.
