The U.S. Army has abandoned its plans to replace the PAC-3 long-range air defence missile with the MIM-104 Patriot air defence system.
U.S. Army Major General Frank Lozano stated to Defense News that the Lower-Tier Future Interceptor programme, which was to develop a replacement for PAC-3 missiles, has been scrapped due to costs.
Lozano added that the existing PAC-3 MSE missile will be developed further to defend against new threats, which mainly include hypersonic missiles and improved kinematic performance of adversary ballistic missiles (higher speed and sharp manoeuvres...).
A new missile dubbed PAAC-4, the Israeli Stunner missile with an RF+IIR seeker, was previously considered a separate missile from the PAC-3 replacement. Rafael and Raytheon jointly developed Stunner.
The PAC-3 MSE missile is the latest version of the PAC-3 missile, with a larger rocket motor for extended range. Otherwise, the missile shares core features like manoeuvring thrusters, dual-pulse rocket motors, and RF seekers. Due to its larger size, up to 12 PAC-3 MSE missiles can be carried per Patriot launcher, compared to 16 PAC-3.
Like the Army up to this point, the U.S. Navy is also seeking a new multi-packable air defence missile against hypersonic missiles. These missiles are expected to use new propulsion technologies, like grain rocket propellants with high-energy and solid-fuel ramjets, to attain the needed kinematic performance.
U.S. Army Cancels Patriot PAC-3 AD Missile Replacement
