US Army’s new short-range air defense system debut in exercise held in Estonia

The U.S. Army’s newest Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) system is making its debut at military exercise Saber Strike in Estonia.

According to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, the new short-range air defense system has destroyed a drone target over the Gulf of Finland during a live-fire demonstration for exercise Saber Strike 22 in Rutja, Estonia on March 10, 2022.

The exercise runs through March with approximately 13,000 participants from 13 countries and has been held every 2 years since 2010. The training event is scheduled during winter to demonstrate the ability to operate in austere conditions.

- ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW -

“This is the exercise debut of the four prototype M-SHORAD platforms which will fill a critical capability for the Army, providing air defense for maneuver forces,” the news release says.

Photo by Robert Fellingham
Photo by Robert Fellingham

M-SHORAD is a Stryker-mounted air defense platform, providing the Army with a replacement to the legacy Avenger system. Better armored, better armed, and more mobile than the system it’s replacing the M-SHORAD is going to provide the Soldier with a flexible air defense solution that can keep up with a unit on the move, closing out a vulnerability as the use of low altitude threats like helicopters and small drones is on the rise.

The M-SHORAD system represents more than just a new weapon system, it’s also an example of the Army’s new rapid acquisition cycle in action. In the past the development of a new system has been a long process that could easily take a decade to start to generate results. M-SHORAD, by comparison only took a few years to go from initial shootoff and selection to a finished product deliverable to the Soldier.

If you would like to show your support for what we are doing, here's where to do it.

If you wish to report grammatical or factual errors within our news articles, you can let us know by using the online feedback form.

Executive Editor

About author:

Colton Jones
Colton Jones
Colton Jones is the deputy editor of Defence Blog. He is a US-based journalist, writer and publisher who specializes in the defense industry in North America and Europe. He has written about emerging technology in military magazines and elsewhere. He is a former Air Force airmen and served at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

TRENDING NOW

Ukrainian F-16 reportedly shoots down second Russian Su-34

Reports from Russian military bloggers and aviation sources suggest that a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber was downed under mysterious circumstances early this morning. Russian sources close...