IFPC Increment 2: Filling the medium-range gap

The US Army’s Indirect Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) Increment 2 (Inc 2) programme is making steady headway towards its eventual, essential place in the Army’s layered defence strategy.

IFPC Inc 2 – an overview

The US Army’s IFPC Inc 2 programme is intended to develop a new mobile, medium-range air-defence weapon system – launcher and missile interceptors – for the US Army, to defend a variety of assets from current and emerging aerial threats, including: subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and rocket, artillery, and mortar (RAM) threats, as well as low-flying rotary and fixed-wing aircraft.

Between the air-defence (AD) layers covered by very short-range air defence (VSHORAD), such as man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS), and short-range air defence (SHORAD) solutions, to those covered by longer-range weapons such as PATRIOT and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) systems, a gap for a system to cover medium-range AD threats exists. A system is needed to protect facilities like fixed critical infrastructure (CI), high-value military installations, as well as semi-fixed assets like forward operating bases. It’s a capability the US Army has been meaning to fill for many years and which is now, through the IFPC Inc 2 programme, well on the way to full realisation.

The programme currently involves several companies, including Leidos, with its subsidiary, Dynetics, producing the IFPC Inc 2 launchers. Prototype launchers have been produced, initially using RTX’s AIM-9X Sidewinder as a preliminary interceptor to support various system and development tests. A second missile is, however, currently on the drawing board, with Boeing selected to pursue a new interceptor, more capable than the Sidewinder, to ensure effectiveness against the most advanced and emerging threats. Of course, several other companies are also involved in IFPC Inc 2, such as Anduril, working on rocket motor technologies for the new interceptor, while others, including Lockheed Martin and Rafael, have previously been involved. However, they reportedly had potential interceptor work interrupted by the current Israel-Gaza crisis. Whether they will re-enter remains to be seen.

IFPC must integrate into the Army’s layered AD ecosystem; to do so, the Dynetics launchers will integrate and network with other AD assets via the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS). This coordinates multiple sensors and shooters, active in each layer of the overall strategic AD picture, against a wider threat target set, more effectively. As a key element in the mix, the mid-range capability IFPC Inc 2 system, will be a crucial weapon in the US Army’s layered air defence arsenal, which, once operational, will result in 360° protection against mid-range targets. And as threats evolve rapidly, the IFPC Inc 2 programme’s open-architecture approach and technologies are being designed, so both launchers and interceptors will be adaptable and upgradable to meet any adversarial advances head-on, through the incorporation of latest technologies to counter new threats.

Running the show

At the Programme Executive Office – Missiles and Space (PEO MS) at Redstone Arsenal Alabama, some 30 programmes are managed by six project offices. It’s under the umbrella of the Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defence Project Office (SHIELD PO) where solutions to enable US and Allied forces to detect and defeat cruise missiles, UAVs, rotary and fixed-wing targets, as well as RAM threats, are managed throughout their lifecycle: from development, qualification and testing, to integration, production, sustainment, and more, then eventual fielding with operational units. And it’s under the SHIELD PO in its M-SHORAD Product Office, that IFPC Inc 2 has its own product office.

The launcher story so far

Back at the end September 2021, the PEO MS awarded Dynetics a USD 237 million, 2.5-year contract for the prototyping manufacture of a ‘mobile ground-based weapon system’, what it called at that time the ‘Enduring IFPC’, that would defeat cruise missiles and UAVs. Some 16 Enduring Shield units were slated for delivery by end 2023, with Army officials saying that the prototypes will be issued, in the fourth quarter of 2025, to multiple AD artillery battalions. The first IFPC Increment 2 battalion is slated to be fielded by the US Army by FY2026.

The September 2021 contract also included a follow-on option for a further 400 launchers and ‘associated interceptors’ – the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. Dynetics designed its ‘Enduring Shield’ launchers with open-system architecture to support flexibility and growth, and integration with the IBCS, mentioned earlier. The company had worked collaboratively with Raytheon to select its AIM-9X All-Up Round Magazine (AUR-M), carrying 18 AURs, for the IFPC platform. Sidewinder, for its part, had already proven successful integration with the IBCS back in May 2021, and was therefore suited for supporting the Army’s accelerated prototyping timeframe request for the first launchers.

On schedule, at the end of December 2023, Leidos and its Dynetics team delivered the first Enduring Shield launchers during a ceremony at its Huntsville, Alabama facility, with IFPC Inc 2 programme representatives, Brig Gen Frank Lozano, PE Officer MS, and Col Andrew Lunoff, SHIELD programme manager. At the time, the company said that successful integration tests between Enduring Shield launcher ‘fieldable prototypes’ and the IBCS had been demonstrated mid-2023, and that the Army’s developmental test programme of the prototype launchers would begin in 2024. Meanwhile, Leidos set preparations in motion at its Chase plant for the manufacture of further launchers, expecting an order during 2025.

Testing times

It is also worth noting that in December 2023, Leidos announced that an Enduring Shield risk reduction flight demonstration (RRFD) had taken place, showing the platform’s ability to launch a test Sidewinder interceptor from a simulated IBCS interface. As a result, the company’s first shipment of launchers entered the next phase, to begin the Army’s developmental test programme in January 2024, as well as an operational assessment later that year. Feedback to Leidos from both of these activities would be incorporated, as necessary, to improve its next Enduring Shield platforms.

In September 2024, Leidos, the PEO MS, the SHIELD PO, together with the PEO MS integrated fires team, undertook target interception trials against cruise missile and UAV threats; this successfully demonstrated the ability of the launcher to detect, track, and engage the target with a surface-launched AIM-9X Sidewinder fired from the launcher platform’s AUR-M. This was all achieved while networked with the IBCS, a legacy Sentinel A3 (AN/MPQ-64A3) air and missile defence radar, and missile datalink.

At the time, Dino Pusinsky, Leidos IFPC Inc 2 product area VP, said that the successful intercept was a further milestone in evaluating the system’s overall operational capabilities and lethality. Mention was also made that US Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal had, prior to the intercept trials timeframe, awarded the company a contract for additional hardware assets to support the programme’s initial operational test and evaluation process, including: missile remote communications link and software upgrades, in order to network with the Army’s integrated air and missile defence (AIAMD) architecture.

As expected…and more

Earlier than expected in mid-November 2024, in partnership with Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, PEO MS announced an Undefinitised Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to Dynetics, valued at USD 4.1 billion for low-rate initial production (LRIP), and full-rate production (FRP), together with support services, for an initial 18 units of its Enduring Shield launchers; the advantage of the IDIQ approach, was said by the Army to enable a more streamlined and flexible procurement process, effectively resulting in faster delivery.

At the of end April 2025, Leidos announced it had begun preparations for launcher mass production, referring back to the IDIQ contract expectations. The first delivery order under the terms of the IDIQ has been awarded by the PEO MS for 18 launchers to be produced by Dynetics in support of Guam Defence Systems (GDS), a collective name for US air and missile defences deployed, or being developed, to defend the Pacific island of Guam from potential ballistic and hypersonic missile attack. IFPC Inc 2 will eventually take its layered position on Guam alongside the likes of Aegis, THAAD and PATRIOT. The company said the new launchers will play a crucial role in regional defences, supporting the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Pacific Deterrence Initiative, with this specific contract slated to run through December 2026. Remaining orders under the IDIQ contract will continue to 2029. Indeed, precise LRIP and FRP numbers to be ordered are not yet known.

Larry Barisciano, Land Systems Lead for Leidos, said that the company had “been preparing for this [mass production] phase long before our first prototype system deliveries in 2023”. He added that the latest production order highlighted the demand for the critical capability of IFPC Inc 2, delivered via the Enduring Shield launcher and interceptors, which he stressed would be delivered with “unmatched speed and precision”. SHIELD programme manager, Col Andrew Lunoff, said that investing in cruise missile defence is essential to strengthening the Army’s integrated layered air and missile defence capabilities, and that it demonstrated the Army’s focus on rapid development and deployment, to ensure such rapidly and advanced evolving threats can be countered.

 

Cindy Gruensfelder, president of the Defence Systems Sector at Leidos, placed Dynetics in context, saying that the 2019 acquisition of Dynetics “has significantly enhanced our [Leidos] manufacturing capabilities”, aiding the delivery of hardware and integrated systems to the end user, “at speed”.

In the latest development on 30 July 2025, the Army’s Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, awarded Dynetics a cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for IFPC “weapon system requirements”, worth USD 264.6 million. The requirement was solicited online, with only Dynetics responding. Work is expected to be completed by 30 July 2026 and will be undertaken at company facilities in Huntsville, Alabama; Dallastown, Pennsylvania; and Chanhassen, Minnesota. Army funding for R&D, test and evaluation for the remainder of FY2025 amounts to USD 127.9 million, which was obligated at the time of the award.

Commenting briefly to ESD about the end-July contract, Leidos IFPC Inc 2 product area VP, Dino Pusinsky, said, “This award reflects strong confidence in IFPC and the growing demand for a proven capability available today. We’re scaling production, strengthening supply chains, and delivering with urgency.” Pusinsky left ESD with a final thought about the Enduring Shield launchers’ ability to interoperate with various different and future interceptors, the open architecture of IFPC Inc 2 enabling greater flexibility in accommodating different or new interceptors, potentially from different suppliers, which might be developed in line with changing operational and mission requirements. So, while current launchers, with their open architecture, support the AIM-9X Sidewinder as the first interceptor, (though the AGM-114L Longbow variant of Hellfire might similarly suit), future launchers leaving the production line should be able to accommodate any suitable new missile effector developed for the programme, such as the second interceptor currently being developed by Boeing.

On such future interceptor developments, Leidos’ Dino Pusinsky offered ESD one final brief comment, “As the IFPC prime integrator, we’re partnering with our customer and industry to harness the open architecture features of the system. This allows us to quickly integrate new capabilities to make the system more lethal and effective.”

Interceptor developments

This brings us to the latest interceptor development, with the Army narrowing the field in its quest for a new mid-range interceptor to move on from using Sidewinder, by selecting Boeing at end of February 2025 to progress to the next phase of the competition to develop second interceptor for the IFPC Inc 2 programme. In a statement, Boeing suggested its new medium-range missile would protect the kind of installations already outlined better than the AIM-9X, particularly in the face of aerial threats yet to materialise.

Jim Leary, Boeing’s executive director of business development for precision engagement systems, said that with an understanding of warfighter needs, as well as the dynamic environments and conditions under which soldiers operate, the company’s aim is to “keep them safe with an innovative, affordable offering that leverages our industry-leading missile expertise”. He added at the time, that the company’s missile design offers increased magazine depth, and will be an interceptor providing increased speed to target, as well as greater range and manoeuvrability than AIM-9X. The new missile’s development has embraced a modular open systems (MOSA) approach, so that it can be updated/upgraded as and when threats evolve, and changes needed. Boeing said that the Army will select companies for the second interceptor’s prototype development phase sometime in 2026.

So, the path to a new interceptor for IFPC Inc 2 seems clear, with Boeing’s selection to move forward and develop a second bespoke missile for the programme. While Dynetics’ Enduring Shield prototype launchers have been operating effectively during tests and evaluation using the AIM-9X as the first interceptor, the second, more capable effector is eagerly awaited. Indeed, the US Army announced its request for information (RFI) for a second interceptor for IFPC Inc 2 in January 2024, and awarded the contract just over a year later in February 2025. IFPC Increment 2’s second interceptor will be expected to integrate with and bolster the US Army’s layered air and missile defences, just as the first interceptor has done in tests.

 

Tim Guest

Author: Tim Guest is a long-time freelance defence and aerospace journalist, UK Correspondent for ESD, and a former officer in the British Forces.