Washington: The US Army this week announced it was cancelling plans to develop a next-generation interceptor for the Patriot air defence system, but executives from key air defence competitors largely shrugged off the news.
Maj Gen Frank Lozano, the Army’s program executive officer for missiles and space, announced the service’s intent to walk away from the effort, called the Lower-Tier Future Interceptor (LTFI). Instead of buying a new interceptor, which Lozano called “very expensive,” the Army will upgrade the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement currently made by Lockheed Martin, he said.
Lockheed had been preparing to compete for LTFI, and the Army had not yet informed the company of its specific path forward for future PAC-3 upgrades, said Tim Cahill, executive vice president of the company’s missiles and fire control business.
However, the decision didn’t catch Lockheed “flat footed,” as it typically invests in future capability enhancements on PAC-3 and has technology “waiting in the wings,” he added.
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