Army Wants New Palletized Short-Range Air Defenses In Service By The End Of 2029

The US Army aims to field its next palletised Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system, M-SHORAD Increment 4, by the end of calendar 2029. The proposed modular 'sled' would be transportable across multiple host platforms and provide point protection against small drones, one-way attack drones, helicopters and attacking fixed-wing aircraft. Requirements allow a combination of kinetic interceptors, guns and non-kinetic effects such as electronic warfare, with reconfiguration for different missions and a secondary ground-target engagement capability. The programme remains an Army requirement and industry-development effort rather than a contract award or a system already in service.