PAE Fires Low-Cost Interceptor Industry Day — June 23, 2026
Source
U.S. Army Portfolio Acquisition Executive – Fires (LinkedIn) | SAM.gov Opportunity
Event Details
What: Industry Day for Low-Cost Interceptor program
Who: U.S. Army Portfolio Acquisition Executive – Fires (PAE Fires)
When: June 23, 2026
Where: Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Richmond Hwy, Arlington, VA
Registration Deadline: 5:00 PM EDT, June 18, 2026
Registration: Via forms.osi.apps.mil (link in SAM.gov posting)
Program Context
PAE Fires issued a formal Request for Information on May 15, 2026 seeking low-cost interceptor capability — defined as unit cost under $1 million per round. This follows the broader Army shift toward affordable mass in air and missile defense, driven by the cost-exchange problem: current interceptors (PAC-3 MSE at ~$4M/round, THAAD at ~$12M) are economically unsustainable against mass drone/cruise missile salvos.
Key Requirements from RFI:
- Unit cost under $1M
- Interceptor rounds compatible with existing or near-term launchers
- Scalable production capacity
- Capable of engaging cruise missiles, UAVs, and tactical ballistic missiles
Key Personnel
- Ms. Miranda Oden — Executive Director, PAE Fires
- BG Robert Mikesh — CPE Offensive Fires (recently visited Picatinny Arsenal with Oden)
- BG Shane Taylor — CPE C3N
PAE Fires recently absorbed the Lethal Autonomous Systems (LAS) portfolio, strengthening alignment across offensive fires, defensive fires, and integrated fires.
Competitive Landscape
Companies known to be pursuing low-cost interceptor solutions:
- Lockheed Martin — MRIC (Medium Range Intercept Capability)
- RTX/Raytheon — SkyCeptor / Tamir derivatives
- Dynetics/Leidos — Enduring Shield launcher + interceptor pairing
- Anduril — Roadrunner (autonomous interceptor drone, ~$100K unit cost claim)
- Northrop Grumman — Directed energy integration
- L3Harris — Low-cost seeker technologies
Cross-References
- Topic 333 — Army Open Solicitation (AOS): AOS is the likely contracting vehicle for rapid prototyping awards from this industry day
- Topic 326 — Attrition Advantage / Precise Mass: The intellectual framework driving this requirement (cheap expendable hardware at scale)
*AI generated