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Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD)

The IM-SHORAD consists of Leonardo DRS' Mission Equipment Package (MEP) mounted on a General Dynamics Stryker A1 platform. IM-SHORAD is a Stryker-mounted air defense platform, providing the Army with a replacement to the legacy Avenger system. Better armored, better armed, and more mobile than the system it’s replacing the IM-SHORAD is going to provide the Soldier with a flexible air defense solution that can keep up with a unit on the move, closing out a vulnerability as the use of low altitude threats like helicopters and small drones is on the rise.

The IM-SHORAD system is one of the Army’s solutions to replace the aging Avenger short range air defense system. While the Avenger worked well in its day as a Cold War platform for the protection of Army units from close in air threats, the system was showing its age, being less survivable than other modern air defense systems, and requiring a long set up time to get operational. The IM-SHORAD is built to bring a modernized package of capabilities to the table and improve in the areas the Avenger struggles. Mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle, IM-SHORAD can keep up with the units they are protecting, with better armor and survivability than a HUMVEE platform provides. The system has its own radar, and an array of weapons that can be effective against air threats without a long setup process.

The IM-SHORAD system represented more than just a new weapon system, it’s also an example of the Army’s new rapid acquisition cycle in action. In the past the development of a new system has been a long process that could easily take a decade to start to generate results. IM-SHORAD, by comparison only took a few years to go from initial shootoff and selection to a finished product deliverable to the Soldier.

The IM-SHORAD system was not quite ready for full production, but multiple prototypes had been made. To get the system ready to be mass produced, operational testing is needed. Soldiers need to get their hands on the system, learn to use it, and then use it just as they would, including trying new things, making mistakes, and otherwise doing the sort of thing that the system designers may not have prepared for.

Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment out of Ansbach, Germany are on WSMR conduction training and operational testing of the Army’s Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense system. “There’s a lot of equipment on this machine that will change a lot of aspects for the Air Defense Artillery. Everything from operations to capabilities to new weapons we as ADA don’t have currently, and I think it will make a huge difference to what we do.” said Spc. Andy Mendoza, an air and missile defense crewmember with the 5-4 ADA.

While the system has been doing plenty of developmental testing on WSMR this pivot to operation testing is an important step. Without a full battery of operational tests, the system could be delivered to the Soldier with bugs and technical issues that can’t be found through developmental testing by engineers who are intimately familiar with all the technical and operation details of the system.

“It’s easy to get caught up in what you are doing, how you're designing it and how you’re explaining it to yourself,” said Steven Powell, acquisition logistics lead with the IM-SHORAD Program Office. “Everything might look good on paper, on the board, but until we get through the testing and putting it through its paces, understanding what it’s actually capable of, we won’t know if we’re producing the right system for the Soldier.”

Thanks to Soldier feedback, some new features have already been added to the system to make it more user friendly. “The ADA Community, particularly this (job set) of Soldiers have a gamut of sizes of Soldiers they go through both male and female. So one of the issues was being able to reach one of the launchers to reload,” said Powell. “One of the fixes we already incorporated was a reload step, so anybody from the bottom 5th percentile to the tallest Soldier they have is able to safely reload their system.”

Bringing in a unit from Germany to just conduct operational testing may seem a little extreme, but for the long-term it’s an advantageous decision. First, the unit is already equipped with the Avenger system the IM-SHORAD system is set to replace. This means that the Soldiers giving their feedback and testing the system will have a solid base for comparison, making them perfect for not just evaluating the differences, but also giving them the ability to really test the system to the mission it’ll be expected to perform, and treat the system exactly how it will be treated by the end user.

Secondly, the 5-4 ADA is currently set to be the first unit to receive the IM-SHORAD system. By getting their hands on the system in advance, the unit is ensuring that when the finalized vehicle is delivered, there will already be a core cadre of Soldiers that are fully trained on the system and familiar with its abilities, quirks, and unique features. This should make training up soldiers new to the system a little easier, as their peers can directly contribute to the training and provide nuance that can only be gotten in a Soldier-to-Soldier training environment.

“The reason why this platoon is out here from Germany is we’ll be fielding the first system into the Army, so it not only gets us to test the system, but also understand how to use it so we can go back to our home unit and train with them on the system,” said 1st Lt. Ryan Pitcher, the units’ platoon leader.

On 30 October 2020 General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), was awarded a $1.219 billion contract to produce, test and deliver Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) systems to the U.S. Army. The Army’s initial order on the contract called for 28 Stryker IM-SHORAD vehicles for $230 million. “General Dynamics and our teammates Leonardo DRS and Raytheon are pleased to be able to partner with the Army to bring this powerful capability to U.S. Soldiers,” said Don Kotchman, Vice President and General Manager of GD Land Systems. “This dedicated SHORAD capability adds a new operational dimension to the Stryker fleet in all of the Army’s maneuver formations.”

The IM-SHORAD is designed to counter threats from Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and a multitude of other Rotary and Fixed Wing aircraft, and provides a common Army platform that is cost-effective, highly mobile, survivable, sustainable and transportable. Stryker continues to be a highly sought platform beyond the Stryker Brigade Combat Team formations.

Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of September, 30, 2025. GD Land Systems has production locations in Tallahassee, Florida; Scranton, Pennsylvania; London, Ontario; Lima, Ohio; and Anniston, Alabama. Headquartered in Sterling Heights, Michigan, General Dynamics Land Systems provides innovative design, engineering, technology, production and full life-cycle support for land combat vehicles around the globe. The company’s extensive experience, customer-first focus and seasoned supply chain network provide unmatched capabilities to the U.S. military and its allies.

While the future of the IM-SHORAD system is bright; testing continued, running the Soldiers through every system, setting, and operation of the IM-SHORD. Final delivery of the system to Germany was scheduled for early 2021. Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment wrapped up a long testing and training mission at White Sands Missile Range. The unit has been attached to the Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense Program since summer 2020, with the effort closing with an award ceremony held 03 December 2020 on White Sands Missile Range. Following a few final short field exercises, the unit began the process of returning to Germany and preparing the rest of the 5-4 ADA to receive the system and begin putting it into use.