A mobile, ground-based air defense system being developed by Leidos [LDOS] successfully intercepted targets in live testing with the Army, the company said on Tuesday.
The Enduring Shield launchers fired AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles against unmanned aircraft systems and cruise missile test targets. Leidos said Enduring Shield was able to detect, track, engage, and intercept the targets.
Enduring Shield is being developed under the Army’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment (IFPC) 2 program. Leidos said the system will fill the gap between short-range and strategic air defense systems.
In addition to the intercepts, Enduring Shield was integrated with Northorp Grumman’s [NOC] Integrated Battle Command System that connects sensors and shooters, and the RTX [RTX]-built AN/MPQ -64 Sentinel A3 air defense radar and Missile Datalink.
Additional testing will continue throughout 2024.
The successful live fire “marks another major step forward in evaluating the overall operational capability and lethality of the system,” Dino Pusinsky, the company’s Enduring Shield Product Area Vice President, said in a statement.
The flight testing is being done with the Amry Program Executive Office (PEO) for Missiles and Space, the Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense Project Office, and the PEO MS Integrated Fires team.
Leidos in December 2023 delivered 16 Enduring Shield launchers (Defense Daily, Dec. 21, 2023).
Leidos also said it recently received a contract from the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., for more hardware assets—including upgrades to the missile remote communications link and software—in support of IFPC Initial Operational Test and Evaluation.
“We believe this award will let us showcase the ability of the IFPC Inc 2 system to transform warfighting capabilities as it progresses toward being declared operationally ready for our warfighters,” Larry Barisciano, senior vice president and business area manager for land systems at Leidos, said in a statement.