We need to remind Laser Wars that it’s now the War Department.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is challenging defense mfgs to develop a new generation of low-cost air-defense interceptors within a year, a move that could reshape one of the military’s most expensive and strategically important weapons markets, Bloomberg News reported.
The effort comes as recent conflicts highlight the economic challenges of modern air defense. In the recent conflict involving Iran, defenders have relied heavily on costly interceptor missiles to destroy incoming threats (that are often significantly cheaper to produce).
The issue has become particularly acute for Patriot missile
systems, whose interceptors can cost millions of tax dollars apiece.
Surging demands from US stockpiles have come under pressure, exposing limitations in production capacity and replenishment timelines which could seriously affect the defense of American families.
It was originally the War Department.