Photo: Raytheon
Ever since their invention in the final years of the Second World War rockets and missiles have become the preferred ways for nations to strike at the heart of their enemies from afar. But for every advancement made in missile technology a similar leap is made in the means needed to counter them. And our modern world has nothing better to offer in terms of missile defense than the LTAMDS.
The acronym stands for Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, and it is basically a radar system being developed by defense contractor Raytheon. The company was given the task to come up with the "most advanced air and missile defense radar" in the world back in 2019, and it has been hard at work testing the hardware ever since.
The LTAMDS started being put through its paces last year, and has since engaged and taken out, during four tests, a variety of targets, including high-speed, high-altitude cruise missiles, air-breathing missiles, and ballistic missiles. A new type of such weapon, a tactical ballistic missile, is now on the system's victims list as the fifth and most complex live-fire exercise ended.
We are not being where (likely the White Sands Missile Range) and when the exercise took place, but Raytheon said the LTAMDS worked in conjunction with the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) for the task at hand. It picked up a dud tactical ballistic missile fired by the Americans themselves as it was flying at undisclosed range and high speed, tracked it, and then guided a PAC-3 interceptor to take it out.
The LTAMDS uses an array of three antennas to detect incoming targets – a primary installed at the front, and another two at the rear. This setup gives it the ability to sense threats coming from any direction.
The new radar is about the same size as the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, but has twice the power. It can be made to work with both the Patriot and the Integrated Air and Missile Defense system.
Six of these babies are already here, being put through their paces for testing purposes, but more loom on the horizon. Raytheon expects to have these radars rolling off the lines in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year.
Naturally, the US will be the main customer for the system, but allied nations (more than a dozen of them) will be protected by its capabilities as well. The one we know of is Poland, a country that's literally right next door to the largest conflict on the European continent since the Second World War, a fight that burns through rockets and missiles with a speed worthy of a much better cause.
It's unclear how much one of these systems will cost, but in August 2024 the US handed out a contract worth $2 billion for the production of an unspecified number of radars.
The LTAMDS started being put through its paces last year, and has since engaged and taken out, during four tests, a variety of targets, including high-speed, high-altitude cruise missiles, air-breathing missiles, and ballistic missiles. A new type of such weapon, a tactical ballistic missile, is now on the system's victims list as the fifth and most complex live-fire exercise ended.
We are not being where (likely the White Sands Missile Range) and when the exercise took place, but Raytheon said the LTAMDS worked in conjunction with the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) for the task at hand. It picked up a dud tactical ballistic missile fired by the Americans themselves as it was flying at undisclosed range and high speed, tracked it, and then guided a PAC-3 interceptor to take it out.
The LTAMDS uses an array of three antennas to detect incoming targets – a primary installed at the front, and another two at the rear. This setup gives it the ability to sense threats coming from any direction.
The new radar is about the same size as the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, but has twice the power. It can be made to work with both the Patriot and the Integrated Air and Missile Defense system.
Six of these babies are already here, being put through their paces for testing purposes, but more loom on the horizon. Raytheon expects to have these radars rolling off the lines in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year.
Naturally, the US will be the main customer for the system, but allied nations (more than a dozen of them) will be protected by its capabilities as well. The one we know of is Poland, a country that's literally right next door to the largest conflict on the European continent since the Second World War, a fight that burns through rockets and missiles with a speed worthy of a much better cause.
It's unclear how much one of these systems will cost, but in August 2024 the US handed out a contract worth $2 billion for the production of an unspecified number of radars.
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