Army seeks contractor input on Patriot radar successor
The Army is reaching out to industry for a potential upgrade or replacement of its venerable Patriot radar, according to a notice on the Federal Business Opportunities website.
A request for information posted July 6 seeks input on "potential materiel solutions for a Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS)."
The Army Lower Tier Project Office, within the Program Executive Office Missiles & Space, issued the call for "information on potential materiel solutions that can be utilized to upgrade or replace the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept of Target (PATRIOT) radars fielded by the U.S. Army."
The RFI stipulates a required Technology Readiness Level and Manufacturing Readiness Level of 5, in order to accommodate the Army's planned acquisition strategy. This includes "a Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase followed by Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD), production, and fielding phases."
The response date for the RFI is July 28. Submissions will be reviewed on behalf of the LTPO by "a team of subject matter experts from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), Wyle-CAS, Dynetics and Torch Technologies."
The LTPO, located in Huntsville, AL, will hold an industry day for LTAMDS on July 19 "to address questions submitted by the contractors."
Congress has taken steps to restrict the Army's expenditures for Patriot modernization. The fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill passed by the House imposes conditions on the service's efforts to modernize its lower-tier air and missile defense.
According to the legislation, of the funds authorized for Patriot, "not more than 50 percent may be obligated or expended until" three criteria are met. The Missile Defense Agency director must certify the interoperability of the modernized Patriot with the ballistic missile defense system and other deployed or planned air and missile defense systems. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must certify that the modernized systems will meet modularity standards established by the geographic combatant commands, as well as warfighter requirements. Additionally, the Army secretary and chief of staff must notify the defense committee whether the requirements for the lower-tier system "are appropriate for acquisition through the Army Rapid Capabilities Office" and outline the terms of a planned competition for the program.
