A senior advisor to the director of the Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team of Army Futures Command, Terry Young has announced that Army would shortly receive its newest short-range air defense systems.
The first five Maneuver Short Range Air Defense System, or MSHORAD, prototypes are on schedule to be delivered to the Army for testing beginning in October, Young said.
An advanced version of newest Army’s short-range air defense system is a new Stryker variant with a turret that will hold two hellfire missiles encased in an external pod, an M230LF 30mm chain gun, a 7.62 machine gun and another external pod housing four Stinger missiles.
The new mobile air defense systems will provide a capability to fill the lack of air defense in current maneuver formations against air threats encountered to include: Rotary Wing, Fixed Wing and Unmanned Aerial Systems.
MSHORAD is designed to provide 360-degree air defense protection of the Stryker and Armor Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) throughout the range of military operations.
The Army Futures Command, the acquisition community, AMD CFT and the Air Defense community are all very proud of the MSHORAD program and consider it a great example of teamwork and a “quick win” for the Army, Young said. By the second quarter of FY 23, the goal is to have 144 of the MSHORAD systems off the assembly line to field four complete battalions.
