Ukraine downed a hypersonic missile with a Patriot. What that says about the future of weapons
Weapons makers say the Pentagon has made progress on innovation, but still has work to do.
PATRICK TUCKER | SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
CONGRESS PENTAGON TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY
The Defense Department is finally learning some key lessons on innovation, getting away from big, expensive programs that produce overly sophisticated weapons and moving toward buying arms faster and more cheaply, representatives from Anduril, Saildrone, and Lockheed Martin told lawmakers Wednesday.
The department is also discovering how new software can increase the value of things it already has. But the Pentagon still has work to do in setting universal standards and prioritizing low-cost, modular-software-based approaches to making weapons, they said during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing.
New software can can improve older systems, Lockheed CEO James Taiclet said, citing the Patriot missiles recently sent to Ukraine. In May, Ukrainian forces shocked the world when they used the Patriot—invented in the 1970s, upgraded many times since—to down a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal, a missile Putin had touted as “invincible”.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/09/what-ukraines-shoot-down-hypersonic-missile-patriot-says-about-future-weapons/390498/
