Leidos announced the mass production of Enduring Shield modular missile launchers as part of the U.S. Army’s Indirect Fires Protection Capability programme.

Towards the end of 2024, the U.S. Army awarded the production contract to Leidos in the Indirect Fires Protection Capability Increment 2 (IFPC Inc 2) programme. The contract is worth $4.1 billion, which can be translated to a goal of wide-scale deployment.

The first Enduring Shield launchers to be delivered will use the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile against cruise missiles and UAVs in addition to low-flying aircraft on which man-portable/platform-mounted FIM-92 Stinger is used. However, new missile options are anticipated, which could be cheaper or higher-end ones optimised against different threats.

IFPC Programme: Filling the Gap in Deployed SAMs

Anticipating confrontations with China and observing the alarming threat of long-range cruise missile/UAV attacks on critical infrastructure, the Army did not take long to revisit the idea of a palletised launcher for low-altitude air defence previously demonstrated by Lockheed Martin as the Multi-Mission Launcher similar to Enduring Shield in concept.

The U.S. Army’s current inventory of air defence missiles consists of FIM-92 Stinger for tactical-level air defence and the long-range Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles against atmospheric targets.

However, there has been a gap in a system that can protect bases against low-altitude threats with cheaper costs than the highly capable Patriot ever since the retirement of the MIM-23 Hawk.

The Army aims to fill this gap with the Enduring Shield, which has a capacity of up to 18 AIM-9X missiles with a range of 15 km. A ground-launched AIM-9X outclasses FIM-92 in terms of range, agility, and guidance performance, which would enable the counter-cruise missile capability sought by the Army.

President Donald Trump’s recent statements to form a layered air dWEAefence system coupled with the needs of the Army might speed things up regarding the introduction of Enduring Shield.

Author: Kaan Azman

Editor: Özgür Ekşi