Lower Tier Air Missile Defense (LTAMD) Sensor

Mission — Lower Tier Air Missile Defense (LTAMD) Sensor source

This funding line is directly aligned to the Army Air and Missile Defense Modernization Priority. The Lower Tier Air Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) is the Army's premier next generation radar intended to sense and track Tactical Ballistic Missiles and Air Breathing Threats; expand the lower tier air and missile defense battlespace and provide 360-degree sensing capability, surveillance, and fire control quality data. The LTAMDS Radar Set (RS) replaces the baseline Patriot RS (AN/MPQ-65A) in an Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) enabled Patriot Battalion mitigating risk associated with threat advances and decreases Operations and Support (O&S) costs due to growing obsolescence. Additionally, the LTAMDS RS capability maximizes the inherent PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Interceptor capabilities to engage threats at greater ranges addressing critical capability gaps, providing modernized technology, and increasing reliability and maintainability. Major LTAMDS Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) efforts include tactical software and model and simulation development, integration, and testing to increase overall LTAMDS capability against novel and stressing threats, thus providing the warfighter a leading advantage in a contested environment. Combat Identification/ Discrimination (CID) Updates: This includes CID development and upgrades to improve radar classification, discrimination, and optimization of multi-function capabilities to enhance performance against current and emerging threats in stressing environments. Upgrades play a critical role in increasing operational effectiveness by providing the warfighter enhanced command and control, effective resource allocation measures, and improved situational awareness. Advanced Threat Defeat: LTAMDS will continue to counter adversary threat evolution in complexity, capability, and capacity in simultaneous combatant commands. This development effort is required to continue to provide overmatch radar capability. Support: Product Development funding in FY 2026 supports development, integration, and modifications for LTAMDS support equipment to include the Large Tactical Power System (LTPS), M870A4 trailer, and M983A4 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) Light Equipment Transporters (LET). These upgrades ensure the support equipment remains compatible with evolving system capabilities. Test and Evaluation funding in FY 2026 supports the initiation of the LTAMDS IOT&E which includes a series of tests to validate system integration and optimized capabilities. Testing will focus on performance evaluation across a range of realistic operational scenarios and against various threat types. Initiation of this event is critical for ensuring LTAMDS readiness, assessing operational suitability, validating technical maturity, and achieving key program milestones. LTAMDS will initiate IOT&E in FY 2026, starting with training, followed by a series of increasingly complex Missile Flight Tests (MFT) against a wide range of threat representatives. Funding also enables continuous transformation to conduct theater-level experimentation at command and joint levels within Combatant Commands. The FY 2026 request for Lower Tier Air Missile Defense (LTAMD) Sensor includes $196,448 thousand of discretionary and $14,000 thousand of mandatory (reconciliation) for a total of $210,448 thousand. The mandatory funds will develop and test new signal processing techniques and waveforms to enhance Electronic Attack and Electronic Protect techniques based on the evolving threat, further enhancing radar survival and effectiveness in contested complex environments. Further information for this reconciliation request is provided in Section 20003 (Missile Defense) of the Reconciliation Exhibit.

Mission — Lower Tier Air Missile Defense (LTAMD) Capability source

The FY2026 request for LTAMDS includes $196,448 thousand of discretionary and $14,000 thousand of mandatory (reconciliation) for a total of $210,448 thousand. The discretionary funds will be used to continue LTAMDS RS Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) of software and hardware capability, support initiation of the LTAMDS Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) as part of the FY 2026 Integrated Fires Test Campaign, and continue development, modifications, and integration efforts for LTAMDS ancillary support equipment. The mandatory funds will develop and test new signal processing techniques and waveforms to enhance Electronic Attack and Electronic Protect techniques based on the evolving threat, further enhancing radar survival and effectiveness in contested complex environments. Further information for this reconciliation request is provided in Section 20003 (Missile Defense) of the Reconciliation Exhibit. This funding line is directly aligned to the Army Air and Missile Defense Modernization Priority. The Lower Tier Air Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) is the Army's premier next generation radar intended to sense and track Tactical Ballistic Missiles and Air Breathing Threats; expand the lower tier air and missile defense battlespace and provide 360-degree sensing capability, surveillance, and fire control quality data. The LTAMDS Radar Set (RS) replaces the baseline Patriot RS (AN/MPQ-65A) in an Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) enabled Patriot Battalion mitigating risk associated with threat advances and decreases Operations and Support (O&S) costs due to growing obsolescence. Additionally, the LTAMDS RS capability maximizes the inherent PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Interceptor capabilities to engage threats at greater ranges addressing critical capability gaps, providing modernized technology, and increasing reliability and maintainability. Major LTAMDS Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) efforts include tactical software and model and simulation development, integration, and testing to increase overall LTAMDS capability against novel and stressing threats, thus providing the warfighter a leading advantage in a contested environment. Combat Identification/ Discrimination (CID) Updates: This includes CID development and upgrades to improve radar classification, discrimination, and optimization of multi-function capabilities to enhance performance against current and emerging threats in stressing environments. Upgrades play a critical role in increasing operational effectiveness by providing the warfighter enhanced command and control, effective resource allocation measures, and improved situational awareness. Advanced Threat Defeat: LTAMDS will continue to counter adversary threat evolution in complexity, capability, and capacity in simultaneous combatant commands. This development effort is required to continue to provide overmatch radar capability. Support: Product Development funding in FY 2026 supports development, integration, and modifications for LTAMDS support equipment to include the Large Tactical Power System (LTPS), M870A4 trailer, and M983A4 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) Light Equipment Transporters (LET). These upgrades ensure the support equipment remains compatible with evolving system capabilities. Test and Evaluation funding in FY 2026 supports the initiation of the LTAMDS IOT&E which includes a series of tests to validate system integration and optimized capabilities. Testing will focus on performance evaluation across a range of realistic operational scenarios and against various threat types. Initiation of this event is critical for ensuring LTAMDS readiness, assessing operational suitability, validating technical maturity, and achieving key program milestones. LTAMDS will initiate IOT&E in FY 2026, starting with training, followed by a series of increasingly complex Missile Flight Tests (MFT) against a wide range of threat representatives. Funding also enables continuous transformation to conduct theater-level experimentation at command and joint levels within Combatant Commands.

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)