Army closes in on replacement for Patriot air defense system
By Jen Judson
Oct 11, 07:00 AM
The Integrated Battle Command System destroyed two cruise missile threats in a major live-fire test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in August 2020 during a limited-user test. (U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has been working toward a replacement for its Raytheon-made Patriot air and missile defense system for well over a decade, but it is closing in on bringing some key capabilities of its future system to bear in 2022.
The linchpin of the Army’s future Integrated Air and Missile Defense system — the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, or IBCS — will complete its critical initial operational test and evaluation in 2022.
IBCS has cost the Army more than $2.7 billion to develop.
The system struggled in a 2016 limited-user test, and the program experienced a four-year delay but showed drastic improvement in several soldier checkouts and other test events over the past few years as well as a new limited-user test in the summer of 2020.
https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/10/11/army-closes-in-on-replacement-for-patriot-air-defense-system/
