The Defense Department is conducting an audit on the U.S. Army in a move to identify the service branch’s plans to develop an integrated air and missile defense system, Defense News reported Friday.Theresa Hull, assistant IG for acquisition, contracting and sustainment, wrote in a memo released last month the review will cover the capability requirements and cost of the proposed IAMD effort.
The Army also seeks to develop a command-and-control technology for the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System that would combine tactical sensors and shooters to generate a single picture of the battlefield.
This program, in partnership with Northrop Grumman, has been delayed for years due to increasing requirements, the report noted.
Prior to the IBCS, the Army invested in the Lockheed Martin-built Medium Extended Air Defense System that launches anti-air missiles at a 70-degree angle.
The DoD then withdrew from the MEADS development program in 2011, leaving the system to Italy and Germany.
These efforts compose the Army’s attempts to replace its old Raytheon-made Patriot IAMDS with a new system that would detect and destroy air and missile threats within a 360-degree coverage.
The end date of the audit remains unknown.
