US Army erhält Rafael Advanced Defense Systems "Iron Dome"

[theoderich]

An Antonov cargo plane carrying U.S. military ‘Oshkosh’ trucks, has recently landed in Ben Gurion airport. These trucks will be used for the Iron Dome systems purchased by the U.S. Army in a 2019 agreement with the MoD.

https://de-de.facebook.com/IsraelMOD/po ... ?__tn__=-R


https://www.facebook.com/MODIsrael/post ... ?__tn__=-R


Army’s Iron Dome batteries inbound for testing in 2021 (29. Mai 2020)

Two Iron Dome batteries will go through initial testing on American soil, says a top air defender, before the short-range air defense system can be fielded to Army formations.

The Army plans to begin phased testing of the systems, as the missiles, launchers and radar go from the assembly line in Israel to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to undergo an equipment fielding and training program, said Brig. Gen. Brian Gibson, Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team director. The batteries are scheduled to arrive in December 2020 and February 2021.

The rigorous testing of each system will end with a live-fire engagement to shoot down a surrogate cruise missile target, Gibson explained. After this, the Iron Dome batteries will officially stand up at Fort Bliss, Texas, and be available for operational deployment by September 2021 and December 2021, respectively.

https://www.army.mil/article/235642/arm ... ng_in_2021


US Army scraps $1b. Iron Dome project, after Israel refuses to provide key codes (7. März 2020)

The US Army said it was curbing its plans to adopt the Iron Dome missile defense system due to concerns about its compatibility with existing US technologies, scrapping its plans to buy two more batteries and explore long-term integration of the Israel-developed system.

A central problem was Israel’s refusal to provide the US military with Iron Dome’s source code, hampering the Americans’ ability to integrate the system into their air defenses.

Gen. Mike Murray, head of Army Futures Command, said the service identified a number of problems — including cyber vulnerabilities and operational challenges — during efforts last year to integrate elements of Iron Dome with the US Army’s Integrated Battle Command System.

“It took us longer to acquire those [first] two batteries than we would have liked,” Murray told the House Armed Service tactical air and land forces subcommittee on Thursday. “We believe we cannot integrate them into our air defense system based on some interoperability challenges, some cyber challenges and some other challenges.”

The Israeli Missile Defense Organization and the Army last August inked a deal for two Iron Dome batteries. Soon thereafter, according to sources, Army officials repeatedly requested Iron Dome “source code” — proprietary information detailing how the system works.

Israel supplied engineering information but ultimately declined to provide the source code the Army said it needed to integrate Iron Dome components with US systems.

The Army decision was based on the impasse over Iron Dome’s source code, not shortcomings identified in a physical technical assessment.

“I think everybody kind of knew going in that Iron Dome is on one hand a proven system with a lot of operational experience, but everyone also knew going in that it was tailor made for Israel, and so it is not going to be optimized for the United States,” said Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. “I see this development as not surprising.”

The US Army said it was now adjusting its Iron Dome plans.

“So what we’ve ended up having was two stand-alone batteries that will be very capable but they cannot be integrated into our air defense system,” Murray told Congress.

Because Iron Dome will not be integrated with other elements of the US Army’s air- and missile-defense system, the service is cancelling plans to buy a second pair of Iron Dome batteries by 2023.

This development is prompting the Army to launch a new acquisition strategy for its Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept program that features an open invitation to participate in a “shoot-off” next year in a bid to deliver a cruise missile defense capability by 2023.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-army-s ... key-codes/

[theoderich]

Today, Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) in the Directorate of Defense R&D (DDR&D) at Israel's Ministry of Defense, delivered the first of two Iron Dome batteries to the U.S. Army. A symbolic event was held at RAFAEL's Iron Dome production line.

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[theoderich]

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Zum Vergleich - ein israelischer "Iron Dome"-Werfer:


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[theoderich]

https://www.mod.gov.il/Defence-and-Secu ... .1.21.aspx


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[theoderich]

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[theoderich]

A major breakthrough for the US Marine Corps (USMC) integration of RAFAEL's Iron Dome ground launcher and Tamir interceptor missile into Marine Corps' Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) Prototype with the USMC G/ATOR Radar and CAC2S Battle Management System.

A live fire test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico proved:

1. USMC has Iron Dome defense capabilities
2. Iron Dome was successfully integrated into USMC Architecture
3. The system performed exactly as was predicted by a USMC simulation prior to the test itself.

https://www.facebook.com/RafaelDefense/ ... %2CO%2CP-R


Marine Corps successfully tests Medium Range Intercept Capability Prototype (8. Juli 2022)

https://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/Ne ... prototype/


Dynetics to Manufacture Enduring Indirect Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) Weapon System for the US Army (27. Dezember 2021)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Sept. 27, 2021 - Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office Missiles and Space for the Enduring Indirect Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) to produce its mobile ground-based weapon system. The transportable system is designed to engage and defeat Cruise Missile (CM) and Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) threats. The award is worth an estimated value of $237 million over the next 2.5 years. The contract also includes the option for follow on production of 400 launchers with associated interceptors.

Enduring Shield was designed and manufactured in the U.S. and offers an open-system architecture that provides both flexibility and growth, as well as full integration with the Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS). The system provides a 360 degree air defense envelope with the ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously. Dynetics unveiled its Enduring Shield offering earlier this summer in preparation for the contract. The proven and existing technologies within Enduring Shield deliver a cyber-resilient solution on a rapid schedule, delivering 16 launchers prototypes and 60 interceptors.

Dynetics selected the AIM-9X effector and environmentally sealed All-Up Round Magazine (AUR-M) provided by Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business. The AIM-9X features the most advanced IR seeker in use today, providing warfighters a highly effective solution to track and intercept hard to detect, fast moving cruise missiles. The missile has previously demonstrated successful integration and engagements with the U.S. Army's IBCS, supporting the accelerated prototyping phase that the U.S. Army has requested.

The investments in Enduring Shield enabled the completion of the Phase 1 Shoot-Off in May 2021 and demonstrated missile and IBCS integration.

The manufacturing of components, performance of assembly and system integration will be conducted in Huntsville, Alabama. Dynetics is set to deliver four units in 2022 and 12 units by the end of 2023.

https://www.leidos.com/insights/dynetic ... -system-us

[theoderich]

[theoderich]

The Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) prototype gives the Marine Corps point defense in an expeditionary package. The system is just one of several initiatives critical to Force Design 2030, addressing an emergent capability gap for the Marine Corps. PEO LS Ground-Based Air Defense program oversees the MRIC system.

[theoderich]

Indirect Fires launchers on track amid supply chain challenges

Despite some supply chain challenges, the U.S. Army is on track to receive its first 12 Indirect Fires Protection Capability launchers by the start of 2024, according to the service’s program executive officer for missiles and space.

The Leidos-owned Dynetics won a $247 million contract to build a total of 16 prototypes for the Army’s enduring system to counter cruise missiles, rockets, artillery and mortars as well as drones following a shoot-off against a Rafael and Raytheon Technologies team. The contract period of performance is through March 31, 2024. Dynetics will also deliver 60 interceptors and associated all-up-round magazines.

The service intends IFPC to protect critical fixed- or semi-fixed assets and to be a more mobile solution than one that would suffice at a forward operating base. The system is planned to bridge the gap between short-range air defense systems, the Patriot air-and-missile defense system and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

The Army is conducting system integration and checkout of the first two launchers, Lozano added, while Dynetics continues to work through some supply chain issues.

One challenge the service is working through on the technical side, Lozano said, is thermal management. “There’s a very complex thermal management system that exists within the IFPC launcher to keep the missiles cool, especially in a hot environment,” he noted.

The launcher’s first chosen interceptor is Raytheon’s AIM-9X Sidewinder.

“These missiles were made to fly off a fixed-wing aircraft that’s flying 25,000 feet. It’s pretty cool up there,” Lozano said. “You put an AIM-9X in a magazine on an IFPC launcher out at [White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico], and so you have to have fans and everything’s got to be conditioned to keep that missile in an ambient temperature where it can operate.”

Over the summer the Army has also been working with Raytheon, who is providing two controllers for the launcher. One is the Missile Interface Controller that goes into the missile magazine and is geared toward operating the AIM-9X. The other is the Weapons Interface Controller that sits on the launcher and interfaces with the service’s Integrated Battle Command System, the command-and-control capability that will link IFPC to sensors on the battlefield.

The Army has been conducting engineering release testing of all the software for those components.

“Then as we accept launchers in the fall, then they’ll come with the associated magazine MIC and WIC,” Lozano said.

Once the first round of 12 launchers is received, the Army will conduct its first missile flight test in February 2024 followed by roughly six to nine months of developmental testing.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, IFPC should be ready to participate in the Army’s Integrated Fires Test Campaign along with the new Lower-Tier Air-and-Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) and IBCS.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-sho ... hallenges/

[theoderich]