PEO Missiles & Space is expected to hold a competition for full-rate production of the DE M-SHORAD system, according to McLeod. The DE M-SHORAD capability will transition from RCCTO to the Army’s Program Executive Office Missiles and Space in 2023, according to Thurgood. 18 media briefing.ĭuring the shoot-off, soldiers, not contractors, operated the vehicles and the initial prototype Stryker was able to engage rockets, artillery and mortars as well as a variety of unmanned aircraft systems from those weighing under 20 pounds up to UAS weighing less than 1,200 pounds and “some other targets,” Thurgood said at the symposium. Scott McLeod, the Army’s program manager for DE M-SHORAD, said during an Aug. The four systems will be fielded by the end of calendar year 2022, Col. The source confirmed to Defense News that integration work on those vehicles has already begun. The results - which are classified - satisfied the Army to the point it decided to integrate the company’s system onto the rest of a platoon of Strykers. Thurgood said it’s important to put the largest laser on the smallest vehicle in the maneuver element so it can keep up with brigade combat teams.Īfter Northrop exited, the shoot-off with Raytheon’s equipment was successful, according to the source. It’s easy to put a 10-kilowatt on a Stryker. “That’s wicked hard, right? It’s easy to put on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. “The reason we chose a Stryker is it’s the smallest vehicle that goes with a maneuver element,” Thurgood said at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium earlier this month. The Army has acknowledged the challenges inherent in this capability. The source, with experience integrating laser technology onto vehicle platforms, said lasers as powerful as 50 kilowatts present a significant cooling and thermal challenge because roughly two-thirds of the energy put into the system is wasted and turns into heat to get one-third of the energy out in the form of a laser. ![]() “owever, we can assure you that both teams, in an open and transparent discussion, received the same criteria, the same timeline and the same additional schedule to accommodate learning during the prototyping integration efforts to accomplish contract criteria.”Ī source familiar with the program but not authorized to speak publicly said both teams struggled during the design phase and initial build-out with the very high level of generator power needed to feed the laser system. “We are unable to release specific design details due to security constraints,” he continued. In his statement, Thurgood confirmed that, “s development progressed, common design challenges were resolved and shared across the teams.” Then, the Army and Kord encountered redesign work that set the schedule back about a month, the Army officials said. ![]() First, the global pandemic challenged second- and third-tier suppliers’ ability to deliver critical pieces for the systems, according to Army officials not authorized to speak publicly. The problem that led to Northrop’s departure was not the first challenge for the laser module effort. Raytheon referred questions to the RCCTO, and Honeywell referred questions to Kord. Kord declined to discuss the details of why Northrop is no longer participating, but confirmed the Raytheon team met the required milestones to participate in the shoot-off. “Successful execution of the combat shoot-off does not require multiple teams to participate, and Kord is in full compliance with our contractual requirements.” “Kord took into account all circumstances when selecting the system to advance to the combat shoot-off demonstration this summer,” the company added.
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