Radar is a line-of-sight instrument on a curved planet, so a low-flying target hides behind the earth itself — and the entire architecture of layered air defense exists to compensate.
Marta Kowalczyk
Patriot is a long-range surface-to-air system built around one multifunction radar and two very different interceptor philosophies — a large blast-fragile warhead missile and a hit-to-kill one.
Nils AndersenThe US Army's published budget materials and manufacturers' own announcements point the same direction: the binding constraint on air defense capacity is missile output, and the lines are being stretched to answer it.
Petra VogelThe Missile Defense Agency's hit-to-kill interceptor has an unbroken public test record. What it doesn't have, per a CSIS assessment reported by Breaking Defense, is enough spare rounds until production catches up in 2027.
Khalid OkonkwoWhat changed, what the primary record says, and what remains uncertain.
Radar is a line-of-sight instrument on a curved planet, so a low-flying target hides behind the earth itself — and the entire architecture of layered air defense exists to compensate.
Marta Kowalczyk
The Missile Defense Agency's hit-to-kill interceptor has an unbroken public test record. What it doesn't have, per a CSIS assessment reported by Breaking Defense, is enough spare rounds until production catches up in 2027.
Khalid Okonkwo
