The Japanese government is planning to enhance its PAC3 air defense missile systems to intercept hypersonic threats by acquiring the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) made by Raytheon.
Photo: Raytheon
The government plans to include the modifications to the PAC3 in its defense buildup plan, which will be approved by the Cabinet on Dec. 16. Tokyo also intends to improve the capabilities of existing fixed warning and control radars and develop next-generation warning and control radars to deal with hypersonic threats.
The LTMADS has a longer detection range and can better identify high-speed and irregular trajectory missiles. The radar system has three antenna arrays: a primary array on the front and two secondary arrays on the back. These arrays work together to detect and engage multiple threats from any direction at the same time. This allows the LTAMDS to provide comprehensive coverage and protection against a wide range of air and missile threats, including hypersonic weapons.
Made by Raytheon, the primary array is about the same size as the array for the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, but it has more than twice the power. It is marketing the LTMADS as GhostEye.
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