“RTX Readies Production for Innovative Air and Missile Defense Sensor”

Raytheon, a segment of RTX, is advancing into the production phase of its Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, following the successful completion of the U.S. Army’s rigorous flight test program and obtaining the Department of Defense’s Major Capability Acquisition Milestone C certification.

LTAMDS has accomplished eight fruitful flight tests of escalating intricacy to challenge the radar and validate its capabilities against real-world adversities. This progression resulted in the Army confirming that the radar has attained Milestone C, thus commencing the production and deployment stage of the initiative. LTAMDS is now officially recognized as a program of record by the U.S. Army, poised to bolster both its internal homeland defense and overseas operations.

“This marks an exceptional milestone, as a development program of this scale is shifting from prototype to production and deployment at a swift pace,” stated Tom Laliberty, president of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon. “Our synergistic collaboration with the U.S. Army and our extensive network of industry allies has propelled the remarkable execution of the LTAMDS program in record time, delivering an advanced 360-degree integrated air and missile defense capacity.”

The U.S. Army utilized the Middle-Tier Acquisition authority sanctioned by Congress to swiftly prototype and deploy LTAMDS. Defense initiatives of this magnitude and complexity often take over a decade to reach Milestone C.

Raytheon recently supplied the initial six LTAMDS units to the U.S. Army, funded under a 2019 contract award. The firm is currently producing an additional eight LTAMDS radars annually and is increasing yearly output to 12 units to satisfy global demands. Raytheon plans to deliver radars seven and eight later this year and is also manufacturing radars for the U.S. Army and Poland, contracted in August 2024.

Poland stands as the inaugural international client to incorporate LTAMDS into their air and missile defense framework. Twelve more nations are seeking information about LTAMDS and are receiving price and availability assessments.