The U.S. Marine Corps Milestone Decision Authority has approved the next-stage development of its prototype system designed to counter cruise missile threats, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.
Based in some capacity on Israel’s Iron Dome interceptors, the Medium-Range Intercept Capability will undergo a certifying process and a quick reaction assessment to inform fielding of the air defense technology in early fiscal year 2025.
“A series of activities will take place during fiscal 2023, culminating with a quick reaction assessment… for the MRIC prototype, under the Middle Tier Acquisition Rapid Prototyping framework,” said Barbara Hamby, a spokesperson for the USMC Program Executive Officer Land Systems.
The decision to move forward with the MRIC development follows the conclusion of a series of three trials, including a live-fire test of the mobile launcher at the White Sands facility in New Mexico.
MRIC’s ability to continuously launch the Iron Dome interceptors to defend against adversarial missiles was showcased in the demonstration.
The MRIC prototype uses an air surveillance system, a common aviation command and control system and a mini battle management control system.
