The U.S. Army is nearing a production decision for its new missile defense radar, the Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS). Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, the Army’s program executive officer for missiles and space, indicated that this announcement will come soon after a year of further development to refine the system’s capabilities.
Lozano described the LTAMDS as a significant advancement, stating that it effectively doubles the functionality of the legacy Patriot radar systems and offers enhanced 360-degree coverage. This radar is part of a larger modernization plan for the Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense system, which also includes the Integrated Battle Command System, already deployed.
In 2019, the Army awarded a contract to Raytheon to develop the LTAMDS over five years. Lozano acknowledged that the rapid construction of the radar was challenging; however, he requested additional time from former Army acquisition chief Doug Bush to ensure the system reached the necessary performance standards for a Milestone C production decision. Bush approved this request.
Following multiple successful flight tests over the past year, the LTAMDS system has been deemed ready for low-rate initial production. Although an Inspector General report criticized the program for insufficient oversight, Lozano defended their process, emphasizing that the team recognized the need for more maturation time.
By the end of February, the program office had presented a brief to Army decision-makers advocating for LTAMDS production approval, with plans for a signature in the upcoming weeks. The initial low-rate production will consist of approximately 10 radars out of a total of 94 planned for the program. Furthermore, Raytheon will produce an additional 10 LTAMDS radars for Poland, which is the first foreign customer.
Currently, the production timeline for an LTAMDS radar is about 40 months, but the Army aims to reduce this to 36 months, with assistance from the Boston Consulting Group for supply chain management. Lozano highlighted that the program’s estimated total cost is around $13 billion, with the digital and software-driven nature of LTAMDS allowing it to adapt to evolving threats over the decades.
Lozano noted that the cost of producing an LTAMDS radar is currently between $125 million and $130 million, which is competitive compared to the legacy Patriot radar priced at $110 million to $115 million per unit. The Army’s low-rate production phase is expected to last about two and a half years, with the initial operational test and evaluation for the LTAMDS slated for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
Post-evaluation, one LTAMDS sensor will be sent to Guam, supplementing two others set to arrive soon, forming part of a broader air and missile defense infrastructure in the region. The Army anticipates reaching full-rate production of the LTAMDS by 2028.
Jen Judson, the author of the article, is a journalist specializing in land warfare for Defense News and has previously worked for various prominent publications, holding degrees in journalism from Boston University and Kenyon College.
