The US Army has greenlit initial production of an Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) system, and awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) with a USD1.2 billion contract to build the new vehicles.
The service announced the deal on 30 September and said it will run through the end of September 2025. However, the army did not provide additional details about the number of vehicles that will be produced under this deal.
GDLS declined to discuss the programme but Don Kotchman, the vice president and general manager, told Janes the company is “pleased to be able to partner with the army to bring this much-needed capability to US soldiers”.
Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment – an army unit headquartered on Shipton Kaserne near Ansback, Germany – have been testing out a prototype at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Janes joined senior service leaders for a trip out to the desert on 20 August to listen to soldiers’ initial feedback. Although they had not yet fired the prototype, they praised the weapon’s capability and noted only a few minor tweaks they would like to see, including one to a controller. They also told Army Vice Chief of Staff General Joseph Martin and Undersecretary James McPherson that the weapon was best suited for wide-open spaces, for example, vast land in Syria versus more populated European cities with narrow streets and bridges.
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