The Army is planning to grow its operational Patriot air-and-missile defense force from 15 to 18 battalions, plus a composite battalion which includes Patriot capability in Guam, an Army spokesperson told Defense News in a statement.
In 2023 the service announced a plan to add a 16th battalion, but it will now bolster a force stretched thin with two additional battalions.
Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus announced earlier this month that the Patriot force would grow by “up to four” battalions.
Additionally, the Army is planning to build an Integrated Air and Missile Defense battalion for Guam. The Guam Defense System battalion is a composite battalion that will include the Integrated Fire Protection Capability, or IFPC, and the Integrated Battle Command System-enabled Patriot with the Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS.
IFPC is designed to provide defense against rockets, artillery, mortars, cruise missiles and drone threats at fixed and semi-fixed sites. The IBCS system is the newly fielded command-and-control system meant to tie shooters and sensors together on the battlefield.
The Raytheon-developed LTAMDS radar, now in low-rate production, is designed to replace the Patriot radar, offering a 360-degree range of protection against various types of missiles.
“The battalion is purpose built for the defense of Guam and not counted in the total number of 18 Patriot battalions,” the Army spokesperson said.
The Raytheon-built Patriot is in ever increasing demand globally. Ukraine has depended on the system for several years as it continues to beat back the Russian invasion which began in February 2022. The U.S. and other countries continue to make commitments to supply additional Patriot systems to the war-torn country.
The Patriot system also defended Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar against Iranian missiles in June.
All new Patriot systems that come off the line for the U.S. Army will be equipped with the LTAMDS radar and IBCS.
“It greatly expands the range, the altitude, and it’s a 360,” Mingus said recently at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “So you could take those same 15 Patriot battalions we have today, give it IBCS and LTAMDs, and fundamentally when you operationally employ it, it’s immediately doubling that capability.
“You would have the equivalent of about 30 Patriot battalions because instead of having to deploy as batteries, you can break them up and disperse them in a much more tactical way.”
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.