### U.S. Army Halts Plans for New Patriot Interceptor Replacement

The U.S. Army has decided to terminate its initiative to develop a next-generation interceptor to replace the Patriot missile, according to Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, the program executive officer for missiles and space. The decision was revealed during an interview with Defense News at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference.

Lozano mentioned that moving forward with the Lower-Tier Future Interceptor project was deemed "a very expensive endeavor." Instead, the Army plans to focus on continuing to upgrade the PAC-3 MSE missile, which he praised as possibly the best air defense missile globally. This decision follows a comprehensive business case analysis conducted within the Program Executive Office (PEO) and with the input of senior Army leaders.

The next-generation interceptor was intended to complete the final component of a new Integrated Air and Missile Defense System. While the effort has been shelved, the Army is progressing with other elements of this system. This includes the deployment of the Integrated Battle Command System, as well as the imminent fielding of a new radar, the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, which can detect threats from all directions.

Forecasting the missile threat landscape for the 2040s, the Army anticipates the development of missiles with advanced capabilities such as hypersonic speed, maneuverability, decoys, and electronic warfare countermeasures. A year ago, Army Futures Command was formulating an abbreviated capabilities development document for the Lower-Tier Future Interceptor. Approval of this document would have incorporated funding from fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

The PAC-3 MSE missile has demonstrated significant capability in Ukraine, defending against the Russian invasion. The Army is also examining potential integration of the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) with its Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system. According to Lozano, this integration would allow for more efficient battle space management and could enable a seamless operation between THAAD and PAC-3 interceptors to counter challenging threats.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has previously worked on some integration between the Patriot and THAAD systems, responding to an urgent operational need in the Indo-Pacific theater. The MDA has managed to launch a PAC-3 MSE missile using early data from the THAAD radar and plans to include this capability in the next THAAD software update.

However, without full IBCS integration, Patriot and THAAD pairing remains limited. Lozano emphasized that achieving THAAD IBCS integration would provide a thorough set of integrated capabilities, creating a more homogenous and efficient architecture to address various threats with the Patriot and Integrated Fire Protection Capability systems.