Starting LOT-36, Raytheon will only produce the C8 & D3 variants of the #AMRAAM missile (+ any future upg). Earlier this year, US Army awarded Raytheon a contract to integrate the C8 #AMRAAM into #NASAMS which likely also means that prod. AMRAAMER's will include same hardw/sofw.
US Army has so far not funded integrating the Sentinel A4 #AESA with #NASAMS. This as Raytheon continues to mature #LTAMDS derived #GhostEye#AESA to support #NASAMS upgrades. Raytheon still continues to deliver Sentinel A3 #PESA radars to the Army.👇deliveries to 60ADAR (Aug22).
#GhostEye is a C-band #AESA and will support #NASAM's newly added medium range air-defense mission that is enabled by the AMRAAM-Extended Range and future medium range interceptors. It appears that Kongsberg will continue to pursue it as opposed to seeking SentinelA4 integration.
US Army meanwhile has decided to standardize its SHORAD & IAMD force around the Sentinel A4 X-band AESA radar. The A4 variant offers more than 2 times the performance of the A3, and opens up additional missions such as Counter UAS, and Counter RAM. The radar is also scalable.
US Army took delivery of the first 5 Sentinel A4's earlier this year with additional deliveries expected by EOY, and another 5 expected to be delivered in the first half of 2023. The radar will be the primary sensor for the Army's Indirect Fire Protection Capability Inc 2 .
Once #IAMD is fielded later this year, US Army will dramatically ⬆️ its ability to field Sentinel radars organically to #PATRIOT (IAMD) battalions. IAMD via #IFCN allows up to 8 Sentinel A4's (or upg A3s) per #PATRIOT battalion (which will have 4 #LTAMDS)
#ATACMS, even with software based range limits, will be extremely helpful for 🇺🇦 to be able to strike a larger set of targets w/o having to re-locate launchers. This way, same number of M270/MARS, & #HIMARS can hold a higher # of targets at risk. 👇🧵 makes little sense.
If he's stating that trading #GMLRS pod for a #ATACMS pod is counter productive then he can't be further from the truth. Anyone who can think through the implications from those on the receiving end of this capability will know what a 2-3x ⬆️ in range and 2x ⬆️ in warhead means.
It also further complicates the life of Air Defenders who currently, beyond GMLRS range, have only jury-rigged #HARM to worry about for the most part. A maneuvering #ATACMS will be challenging to defend against for several frontline Russian AD systems.
The importance of capturing advanced 🇷🇺 radars, Air-defense systems, EW gear & self-protection jammers cannot be overstated. While the US has a lot of Soviet gear it is often sourced from non Russian operators. Picking apart 🇷🇺operated gear is priceless.
It also basically sucks if you are reliant on Soviet or Russian equipment for your defense or modernization and are at odds with #NATO. Buy these systems at your risk knowing the US and NATO has had an opportunity to study them closely.
Defeating large volleys of Loitering Munitions, mil derivatives of comm UAS & other Group 1/2 UAS's means placing Directed Energy & EW at the center of the layered defense. It would have to become the primary means of threat-defeat with kinetic kill being secondary. #HEL#HPM
The first line of defense from a kinetic perspective would most likely have to be interceptors that can disable several drones or other munitions once deployed. Similarly, gun-based kinetic solutions can form the last line of defense.
The middle and the densest layer would have to be dispersed, and overlapping Directed Energy coverage via High Power Microwave (for larger volleys and swarms) including airborne HPM, High Energy Laser solutions and Electronic Warfare.
Sept 15:Lockheed has delivered to the DOD a tactically-relevant electric 300 kW-class High Energy Laser - LM's most powerful #HEL to date. LM has been supporting OSD's HEL Scaling Initiative, which is being adopted by the Army's IFPC-HEL prg with plans to field 300kW HEL in FY24.
"OUSD selected Lockheed in 2019 to scale its spectral beam combined #HEL architecture to the 300 kW-class level as part of the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI), and the team recently achieved that milestone ahead of schedule" ~ Lockheed Martin news.lockheedmartin.com/2022-09-15-Loc…
HELSI laser will support demonstration efforts with the Army’s IFPC-HEL, which is scheduled for lab & field testing this year. Dynetics-Lockheed team is competing with Boeing-General Atomics to field the first US Army 300kW HEL IFPC-HEL platoon by FY-2024.
"Lockheed will soon begin a campaign of flight tests of its “#SpeedRacer”uncrewed vehicle, aiming for an expendable, modular, multipurpose vehicle that will cooperate with #F35 & cost well below $2 MM the director of the #SkunkWorks said Sept. 14" Via Air & Space Forces Magazine
"Clark emphasized that none of the flights will be a one-off “stunt” but instead one in a series of tests that will each demonstrate aspects of the concept, to be followed not by similar-level flights but by leaps in capability"
"Clark said the goal is a vehicle costing “considerably less” than $2 MM but going beyond the Modular Air-Launched Decoy #MALD in that it could serve both as an extension of the F-35’s sensors— performing sensing, EW, or other missions—as well as a decoy" airandspaceforces.com/skunk-works-to…
#HPM#MSHORAD is needed in order to put counter-swarm capability @ the frontlines. In 🇷🇺 v 🇺🇦 we are already seeing collections of 2-3 drones being used in close coordination. It is plausible that the maneuver force will have to defend against 20 to 30 drones in future ~ #Epirus
"Under the hood of Leonidas lies an array of Gallium-Nitride-based Line Replaceable Amplifier Modules that feature unique power management, control and amplification characteristics.Each LRAM is centered around Epirus’ SmartPower technology platform.." Epirus
"Because the system is software-defined, we’re able to precisely tune our waveforms – widening or narrowing the HPM pulse to prosecute a single target in tight, crowded spaces or sanitize an entire volume of terrain" ~ Epirus