WASHINGTON — The Army formally launched today its low-cost interceptor (LCI) program to produce scalable, affordable interceptors in an effort to end the days of relying solely on multimillion-dollar systems to down drones costing a couple thousand dollars.
The initiative was first teased last month by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, and senior service leaders said today that the Army is working on a “compressed” timeline for the program, aiming to complete the first live fire demonstrations for the LCIs this fall.
“We’re not going to do this physical process where we are whiteboarding deep in the Pentagon and coming up with some arbitrary requirement,” Driscoll said during a panel at the LCI Industry Day. “Instead, we’re going to say, ‘Hey, what can science do for us? What can talented builders do for us?'”
Driscoll added that the new LCIs are “not intended” to replace any existing, exquisite air defense systems, saying the current ones “are incredible” and are “described as a Ferrari of a product.” Still, he said, “we need some other things to supplement those products.”
Related: Driscoll reveals new plan to buy cheaper interceptors with Army-owned IP
