U.S. Army trains on IFPC missile defense system in South Korea

Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade trained on setting up an Indirect Fire Protection Capability system at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on August 5, 2026, according to Eighth Army.

The unit involved, Delta Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, guided equipment into place during the exercise. Eighth Army said the training prepared soldiers to employ the IFPC system in support of air and missile defense operations.

IFPC is a mobile, ground-based air defense system built to counter subsonic cruise missiles, drones, rockets, artillery and mortars. Analysts have described it as an American version of Israel’s Iron Dome, which intercepts short-range rockets and artillery. Each IFPC Increment Two installation combines a launcher, known as Enduring Shield, with interceptor rounds stored in sealed, ready-to-fire magazines that allow rapid reloading without exposing munitions handlers to hostile fire.

The system uses 360-degree radar and integrates into the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System, the network architecture that links sensors and shooters across multiple air defense platforms. The Army has said IFPC is designed to protect fixed and semi-fixed sites, including forward operating bases and critical infrastructure, and to fill the gap between short-range air defense systems and the longer-range Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.

The 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based at Osan Air Base, has operated IFPC in South Korea since at least September 2025, when U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George visited the unit and was photographed in front of an IFPC launcher, marking the system’s first confirmed overseas deployment. The Army deployed the system again in March 2026 during the Freedom Shield exercise, positioning it at Camp Humphreys to test its integration into a networked, layered defense architecture alongside Patriot and Avenger systems.

The IFPC program has moved through several stages of Army contracting. Dynetics, a Leidos subsidiary based in Huntsville, Alabama, entered a $4.1 billion indefinite-delivery agreement with the Army in November 2024 covering low-rate initial production, full-rate production and lifecycle support, with an initial order of 18 launchers. Dynetics received a separate $617 million contract in April 2026 for the fiscal year 2026 production buy, covering launchers, magazines, trainers and logistics support, with deliveries scheduled through November 2029.

The Army has also run a separate competition for the system’s second interceptor type, with Boeing and Lockheed Martin both selected in 2025 to continue development of competing medium-range interceptor designs meant to engage cruise missiles and drones alongside IFPC’s baseline interceptor.