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Lockheed Martin’s First NGSRI Flight Test Advances U.S. Short-Range Air Defense Modernization.
Lockheed Martin confirmed that its Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor successfully completed its first flight test on January 13, 2026, at White Sands Missile Range. The milestone accelerates the U.S. Army’s push to modernize short-range air defense as drones, cruise missiles, and low-altitude threats reshape the battlefield.
On January 13, 2026, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Lockheed Martin announced that its Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor (NGSRI) had successfully completed its first flight test, marking the program’s transition from concept to live-fire reality. This new interceptor is being developed as the U.S. Army’s future replacement for the FIM-92 Stinger within a layered air and missile defense network shaped by drone proliferation, cruise missiles and low-altitude threats. By validating key subsystems in flight only a little more than two years after contract award, the program illustrates how rapidly short-range air defense technologies are now being brought to maturity and how this first campaign is intended to position the U.S. Army for its future air defense needs.
Lockheed Martin’s first successful NGSRI flight test marks a key milestone in modernizing U.S. Army short-range air defense against emerging low-altitude threats (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group / Lockheed Martin)
The flight campaign at White Sands represents the first in a planned series of tests intended to progressively expand NGSRI’s envelope and prove its performance as a short-range interceptor for frontline units. According to Lockheed Martin, this initial event confirmed that the missile can safely launch, transition to controlled flight and operate its guidance and control subsystems as designed, validating the maturation of critical technologies that had previously only been exercised in ground testing and simulations. Company officials highlight that the team completed a controlled flight test series in less than six months, underscoring the emphasis on speed in a competitive program where rapid delivery of a manufacturable and affordable interceptor is as important as raw performance. For Lockheed Martin, this milestone is also presented as evidence of its commitment to advancing technology, prioritizing customer needs and safeguarding soldiers and allies against evolving aerial threats.
Behind this test is a defense product conceived from the outset as a modular, soldier-portable interceptor able to operate across multiple launch platforms. NGSRI combines a Command Launch Assembly (CLA) with an all-up-round missile centered on the Quadstar interceptor, forming a “ready round” that can be carried and fired by an individual soldier or integrated on vehicle-mounted SHORAD systems. The CLA incorporates an Identification Friend or Foe antenna directly into the launcher housing, removing the need for external IFF modules, while the missile eliminates dependence on the traditional battery cooling unit required by Stinger. A fully digital interface and modern fire-control logic allow gunners to engage targets without superelevation or manual lead calculations, reducing the cognitive load during high-stress engagements and shortening the time between detection and launch.
At the architecture level, NGSRI is being developed as a 21st Century Security solution, with an open-systems, modular design meant to evolve over time rather than remain fixed for decades. The interceptor is optimized to defeat unmanned aerial systems as well as rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, reflecting the mix of slow, small drones and faster manned platforms seen over recent battlefields. Lockheed Martin indicates that in many engagement scenarios NGSRI more than doubles the capability of the legacy system, not only in range but also in identification and lethality. The program leverages the company’s wider experience in air and missile defense and integrates advanced software, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to enhance threat classification, engagement decision support and overall system responsiveness within a networked air defense architecture, while meeting strict soldier safety and performance requirements.
AUSA 2025 in Washington, D.C., was the first major public showcase for this interceptor. Army Recognition, present at the exhibition and reporting from the show floor, covered the unveiling of NGSRI as it was presented alongside the Marine Portable SHORAD “ready round,” highlighting its role as an evolutionary successor to the Stinger and as a common, modular interceptor for both dismounted and mounted operations. In that context, NGSRI was described as part of a broader push toward a networked, 21st century air defense ecosystem designed to counter increasingly sophisticated drone and missile threats. The display underlined how extended range, digital targeting precision and modular integration collectively redefine what individual soldiers can carry into the field, moving short-range air defense away from purely incremental upgrades toward a more transformational paradigm.
NGSRI’s development path has been unusually compressed by historical standards. Following a U.S. Army award in September 2023, the program moved from early design to flight in roughly 26 months, with intermediate steps including technology demonstrations in 2024 and platform integration work by 2025. Developmental testing is planned through 2026, of which the first White Sands campaign is a central element, with a ramp-up toward Low-Rate Initial Production around 2028, subject to Army decisions and the outcome of the competitive process. Operationally, NGSRI is conceived as the evolutionary successor to the Stinger, with design work and testing structured to ensure that the new missile can be phased in without disrupting existing unit structures or training pipelines.
Compatibility has been a central design driver throughout this process. NGSRI is engineered for full interoperability with existing U.S. Army and Marine Corps launchers such as the four-pack Stinger Vehicle Universal Launcher, the Standard Vehicle Mounted Launcher and the two-pack air-to-air launcher, allowing units to transition to the new missile without wholesale replacement of their launch infrastructure. In its soldier-portable configuration, the modular and scalable design spans both infantry and vehicle-mounted SHORAD roles, and its architecture leaves open the potential for air-launched applications. This unified approach supports a shift toward families of interceptors instead of multiple, platform-specific missiles, offering a common solution that can be adapted across different echelons and mission sets.
Tactically, the system is positioned as an evolutionary but substantial step beyond the Stinger it is intended to replace. The CLA is reported to provide a two- to threefold increase in positive target identification range, helping gunners discriminate friend from foe earlier in the engagement chain. Intercept range is more than doubled relative to legacy short-range systems, while advances in guidance, fuze design and warhead optimization are expected to increase lethality against fast-moving or maneuvering targets, including small drones, loitering munitions and cruise-missile-like threats. At the same time, the use of standard rechargeable Army batteries, a reduced component count and a modern fire-control architecture are intended to cut maintenance demands and improve reliability in comparison with the older, more mechanically and thermally complex Stinger inventory. While NGSRI is officially framed as the successor to Stinger, the combination of extended range, digital targeting precision and modular integration makes it closer to a transformational leap in portable air defense than a marginal upgrade.
These improvements have to be understood against the broader landscape of short-range air defense. Systems such as Stinger, European man-portable missiles and other legacy SHORAD solutions were originally designed primarily for defending maneuver forces from manned aircraft and helicopters. Their analog interfaces, limited networking and logistics-intensive power and cooling requirements make it difficult to fully integrate them into digital, sensor-rich battle networks or to sustain high operational tempos against swarming drone and loitering-munition threats. By contrast, NGSRI’s open architecture, digital fire control and native compatibility with Integrated Air and Missile Defense frameworks are meant to enable rapid connection to external sensors, beyond-line-of-sight data links and, over time, enhancements such as lock-on-after-launch and collaborative engagement modes. Its modularity is intended to support continuous upgrades, allowing the interceptor to be adapted to evolving threat environments without redesigning the entire system.
Strategically, the first flight test confirms that the Army’s 312 million dollar prototype investment is translating into tangible hardware on the range, not just into paper studies and lab models. The interceptor’s common design for dismounted, vehicle-mounted and potentially air-launched roles supports a shift toward unified interceptor families instead of multiple missile types fragmented across platforms. For the U.S. Army, that promises simplified training pipelines, reduced spares inventories and lower lifecycle costs at a time when short-range air defense units are being reconstituted and expanded. For allies, a U.S.-standard interceptor with open interfaces and clear growth margins offers a candidate solution that can plug into multinational air defense networks while sharing a supply chain with a large U.S. user base. The company also emphasizes that, relative to legacy systems, NGSRI is intended to be offered at a very competitive price point, with affordability achieved through streamlined components, standardized power sources and compatibility with existing launchers.
On the operational level, if NGSRI enters service at scale it could change how air defense is distributed across brigades and combat formations. A soldier-portable, longer-range interceptor with improved identification and digital cueing can be pushed down to small units protecting command posts, logistics hubs and maneuver elements, while the same missile on vehicle-mounted launchers can provide denser coverage around higher-value assets. In theaters where drones, loitering munitions and low-flying cruise missiles have demonstrated their ability to bypass high-altitude air defenses, a widely fielded, mobile short-range interceptor becomes a critical layer in protecting ground forces and key infrastructure. NGSRI’s ability to integrate into Integrated Air and Missile Defense architectures means that, in the medium term, it could be cued by higher-tier radars, passive sensors or even space-based assets, turning dispersed launchers into nodes of a broader, resilient kill web rather than isolated point-defense systems and strengthening tactical air defense at both the individual and formation level.
There is also a clear industrial and procurement dimension. By demonstrating an interceptor that has moved from concept to flight in just over two years, Lockheed Martin is signaling that it can align with Pentagon expectations for faster acquisition cycles in critical capability areas. The company stresses that NGSRI is being designed to be highly manufacturable and cost-effective, with a focus on rapid delivery of capable systems that meet the Army’s needs today while remaining adaptable for tomorrow. For the Army, this approach reduces the entry cost of modernizing SHORAD units, while for Lockheed Martin it reinforces its role as a key provider of integrated air and missile defense solutions across domains and as a partner with a proven track record of delivering systems that protect people, infrastructure and nations.
As a global defense technology company, Lockheed Martin is positioning NGSRI as part of a wider portfolio of all-domain mission solutions aimed at keeping U.S. and allied forces ahead of increasingly agile and technologically sophisticated adversaries. The successful first flight of the interceptor at White Sands is therefore more than a programmatic milestone: it is an early, visible test of a new generation of short-range air defense built around modularity, networking and rapid upgradeability rather than static, single-mission designs. If subsequent testing confirms the performance gains claimed to date and the Army follows through on its projected production timeline toward 2028, NGSRI is poised to reshape how close-in air threats are countered on future battlefields, from brigade maneuver corridors to critical rear-area infrastructure, validating both the Army’s investment strategy and the capabilities first presented to the public at AUSA 2025 and reported by Army Recognition.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.