Army moves LTAMDS into low-rate initial production

The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, made by Raytheon, is one of the Army’s top 35 modernization priorities. (Courtesy of Raytheon)

WASHINGTON — The US Army has greenlit low-rate initial production of the new radar for its Patriot air defense system, Raytheon’s Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), the company announced today.

“LTAMDS has completed eight successful flight tests of increasing complexity to stress the radar and prove its capabilities against real-world threats,” according to a Raytheon press release. “This led the Army to validate that the radar has reached Milestone C, initiating the production and deployment phase of the program.

LTAMDS, replacing Patriot’s aging radar, is a key part of the Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense system and expected to provide the sensing capabilities, surveillance and fire control in the lower tier portion of the ballistic missile defense battlespace.

The service selected Raytheon to proceed with the program in 2019. To date, the company said it has delivered six radars to the Army, and plans to deliver two additional radars this year and move towards producing eight LTAMDS per year. Then, based on international customers’ needs, the company said it wants to ultimately be able to produce 12 radars per year. 

In September 2023, Poland announced its agreement to buy 12 of the radars, becoming the first international customer for the system. The company said a dozen additional countries have requested information about the capability, and are “receiving pricing and availability estimates.”

“Our collaborative partnership with the US Army and our broad base of industry partners has driven the historic execution of the LTAMDS program in record time, delivering advanced 360-degree integrated air and missile defense capability,” said Tom Laliberty, president of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon.