U.S. Army Starts Yearlong Test of Upgraded PATRIOT System

The U.S. Army said it started a yearlong test on the latest Patriot Missile System upgrade last week.

This upgrade is the newest one since 2018.

These tests are being conducted by 65 Soldiers and 135 Government Civilians.

The Patriot Missile System is a mobile air defense guided missile system designed to engage and intercept any aerial threats whether it be aircraft or tactical ballistic missiles under any weather conditions and in natural or induced environment.

Starting in early June 2022, U.S. Army Operational Test Command’s (OTC) Air and Missile Defense Test Directorate (AMDTD) worked alongside Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery Test Detachment (ADATD), 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and multiple government agencies to test the system update to ensure it is ready for Soldiers.

In addition to software and hardware upgrades, the Patriot system is also getting a more user-friendly interface allowing Soldiers to be trained faster.

“I think it’s a lot more beneficial for incoming Soldiers that are newer to the branch,” said Sgt. Angel Quinones, a 3-6 Patriot Fire Control Enhanced Operator Maintainer Soldier and Florida native. “It’s a lot easier to pick up. It would be super easy to train with it as well, instead of (like) us training them how to memorize a full database, we just need to know key words now.”

3-6 ADATD is a locally based unit at WSMR, tasked with testing air defense equipment.

3-6 ADA Soldiers got first-hand experience with the new system, running it through multiple simulations, environments, and live fire tests to enable the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland to provide a thorough and complete evaluation on this new equipment upgrade.

Defensemirror.com Bureau