Second Successful Live-fire for RTX's Raytheon Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor
December 29, 2023 | RTXEstimated reading time: 1 minute

Raytheon, an RTX business, completed another successful live-fire demonstration of the advanced, 360-degree Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, known as LTAMDS. This tactical ballistic missile live fire represents the latest in a series of test event successes, closely following the cruise missile live fire test and the recently completed contractor verification testing. All milestones validate the radar's performance and progression through developmental testing.
For this test event, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Army, a tactical ballistic missile surrogate was launched, flying a threat-representative trajectory. The target was acquired and tracked by LTAMDS, its track data was passed to the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) for launch command, and LTAMDS guided a PAC-3, Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI), missile to intercept.
"With each test, we're putting the radar up against realistic threats that our forces could face on the battlefield. And with each success, we see capability improvement for this transformational radar," said U.S. Army COL Jason Tate, STARE Project Manager for PEO Missiles and Space. "From the start, the goal was to design a next-generation radar capable of outpacing the full range of current and future threats – and we will achieve that goal with LTAMDS."
Six LTAMDS radars are currently progressing through integration and test activities simultaneously at multiple government and Raytheon test sites. Formal testing will continue in 2024.
LTAMDS is the next generation air and missile defense radar for the U.S. Army. A 360-degree, Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, powered by Raytheon-manufactured Gallium Nitride, LTAMDS provides dramatically more performance against the range of threats, from manned and unmanned aircraft to cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and hypersonics.
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