US Army postpones assessment of Enduring Shield air defence system by a year and may delay commissioning

There is a possibility that the US Army may not be able to commission the Enduring Shield air defence system on time. The delay is due to problems that have arisen with the manufacturer.

Here's What We Know

Development of the complex has been underway since 2021 as part of the Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 (IFPC Inc 2) programme. The manufacturer of Enduring Shield is Dynetics. The US Army was supposed to receive the first prototypes of the system in 2022, but the company has not handed over a single launcher to the service.

Consequently, the US Army decided to postpone the Enduring Shield evaluation process for a year. Under the new plans, delivery of the first launchers will take place in the third quarter of calendar year 2023, which corresponds to the fourth quarter of the US fiscal year 2023.

According to the source, Dynetics has experienced supply chain problems. This could lead to the US Army having to postpone the commissioning of the air defence system.

Enduring Shield is designed to provide protection against cruise missiles, drones and artillery shells. The AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, modified for launch from ground-based launchers, will be used to intercept airborne threats.

The system will include a minimum of one AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar and four launchers, each with a maximum of 18 missiles. Communication between them will be provided by the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).

As for the launchers, they are mounted on a wheeled chassis and are based on the MML. The latter, in addition to AIM-9X, can also launch AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

Source: Breaking Defense