A ground-based, mobile weapon system that combats cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft is one step closer to being deployed across the world to protect American troops, allied forces and innocent civilians.
Leidos announced the successful Risk Reduction Flight Demonstration (RRFD) of its Enduring Shield Weapon System on Tuesday.
The Leidos Dynetics team, based in Huntsville, called the successful test “a major milestone” toward the first shipment of launchers and the next phase in the Department of Defense’s layered defense strategy.
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“Being able to say these prototypes are ready for government testing by succeeding at this demonstration is a huge win for us as well as our warfighters,” said Larry Barisciano, Weapon Systems Operations Manager for the Leidos Dynetics team.
“We’re ready to move to the next phase with more confidence and excitement for our future work with our U.S. Army customer.”
According to Leidos, the RRFD demonstrated the ability of Enduring Shield to launch a test AIM-9X interceptor from a simulated Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) interface. The event validated the end-to-end launch functionality of the weapon system, including sending the AIM-9X interceptor to a designated target location.
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The U.S. Army IFPC Inc 2 will begin its Developmental Test (DT) program in January 2024 with Operational Assessment (OA) planned for later in the year. Data collected from RRFD and the 2024 testing will be used to improve the next set of launchers Leidos is contracted to produce.
The system is a key part of the solution to protect and defend critical civilian and military infrastructure. It also bridges the gap between tactical short range air defense and strategic systems, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot forces. Enduring Shield can integrate with the IBCS, which was successfully demonstrated in summer 2023.
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
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