The U.S. Army has chosen Leidos-owned Dynetics to build prototypes for its enduring system to counter both drone and cruise missile threats, sources tell Defense News.
The decision comes after the service held a shoot-off that pitted Dynetics against a Rafael and Raytheon Technologies team.
Israeli-based Rafael and Raytheon offered up the Iron Dome launcher and Tamir interceptor (known as SkyHunter in the U.S.), while Huntsville-based Dynetics brought a launcher based off the Army’s internally developed, but later canceled Multi-Mission Launcher along with the Raytheon-produced AIM-9X Sidewinder interceptor.
The Army originally planned to develop and field its own multi-mission launcher as part of the enduring IFPC solution, but canceled that program in favor of finding a more technologically mature launcher.
Both teams had a chance to bring launcher and interceptor combinations to shoot against threat representative targets at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, earlier this year.