Analysis: US Navy tests M903 Patriot missile launcher on USS Montgomery to counter growing missile threats.

On August 30, 2025, Tom Cavanagh, Director of Naval Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, announced that the company had successfully demonstrated the integration of an M903 Patriot missile launcher aboard the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8).
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The M903 is the standard launcher used in the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, and is capable of carrying up to sixteen PAC-3 interceptors, twelve PAC-3 MSE interceptors, or four larger PAC-2 GEM-T missiles, depending on the configuration. (Picture source: LinkedIn/Tom Cavanagh)

The demonstration was carried out in San Diego and lasted a week, with the launcher positioned on the ship’s flight deck. The integration effort was part of a broader exploration of expeditionary Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) concepts intended for sea-based operations, reflecting U.S. Navy interest in increasing the air and missile defense capabilities of its lighter surface combatants. The test coincided with growing concerns about the rapid expansion of missile arsenals in the Pacific and the potential vulnerabilities of LCS vessels in such an environment.

The M903 launcher is traditionally a land-based system used to fire Patriot interceptors, and its placement aboard the USS Montgomery marked the second instance of adapting a new missile-launcher type to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) after the earlier Mark 70 Payload Delivery System (PDS). The Mark 70 is a containerized version of the Mk 41 vertical launching system that can support missiles such as SM-3 and SM-6 for ballistic missile defense and extended-range anti-air warfare. Former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro noted the added firepower that the Mk 70 brought to the class, characterizing it as a way to restore operational value to the LCS program. The Navy has since moved toward incorporating Mk 41-derived capabilities on select LCS platforms to increase flexibility in missile employment. Against this background, the M903 integration provided another example of extending the ship’s armament beyond its original configuration.

The Patriot launcher on the USS Montgomery was loaded with PAC-3 MSE interceptors, a missile already under consideration for naval integration. The PAC-3 MSE is scheduled for initial procurement by the Navy in fiscal year 2026 to support testing, with long-term plans to adapt it to Mk 41 cells fleetwide. It offers an expanded envelope against aerial and missile threats, including advanced cruise and hypersonic systems, which would supplement the ship’s existing Rolling Airframe Missile point-defense system. Observations from conflicts in Ukraine and the Red Sea have influenced these integration efforts, highlighting the importance of layered defenses and shaping procurement priorities that include interest in an ESSM Block III variant for medium-range coverage. Adding a traditional Patriot launcher to the LCS gives the Navy an option that is both proven in land use and adaptable to maritime roles without requiring a full redesign of the ship.

This experiment reflects a broader naval trend of mounting land-based air defense systems on surface ships as a rapid means of closing capability gaps. Israel, for example, has equipped its Sa’ar 6 corvettes with C-Dome, the shipborne adaptation of the Iron Dome Tamir interceptor, which carried out its first operational intercept near Eilat on April 9, 2024. Russia has pursued two separate approaches: the formal navalization of the Pantsir-S1 into the Pantsir-M system installed on Project 22800 corvettes, and the improvised placement of Tor-M2KM modular launchers on ship decks during the Ukraine war, a measure that was still reported in 2024.

The United Kingdom has fielded the Sea Ceptor naval system using the same CAMM interceptor as the Sky Sabre Land Ceptor, demonstrating how one missile family can serve both land and sea roles with distinct launchers and fire-control chains. Similarly, India and Israel operate the Barak-8 family in both naval LRSAM and land-based MRSAM versions, pairing the same interceptor with service-specific radars and command systems. China applies the same logic with its HQ-16 surface-to-air missile, which is road-mobile on land and deployed as the HHQ-16 from vertical launchers aboard Type 054A frigates. Türkiye has also extended its Hisar missile line to the naval domain, successfully live-firing the Hisar-D RF from the frigate TCG Istanbul in August 2025 using the indigenous MIDLAS vertical launcher.

South Korea also plans to field a long-range Ship-to-Air Missile-II derived from L-SAM on KDDX destroyers, and Germany has joined this trend through efforts to integrate the IRIS-T SLM medium-range interceptor onto its surface fleet. In December 2024, the procurement agency BAAINBw commissioned a feasibility study and a system demonstrator to assess fitting IRIS-T SLM launchers onto Baden-Württemberg-class F125 frigates, with work focusing on connections to shipboard radars and combat systems as well as the use of containerized launchers. Beyond the demonstrator, the IRIS-T SLM has been listed as a potential component for the next-generation F127 frigates, planned to enter service from the early 2030s, where it could be fired from Mk 41 vertical launchers alongside interceptors such as SM-2, SM-6, ESSM, and possibly Patriot.

Equipped with PAC-3 MSE interceptors, the Patriot launcher provides the LCS with a higher-tier defensive capability that goes beyond the close-in protection offered by the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile. (Picture source: LinkedIn/Tom Cavanagh)

In parallel, Diehl Defence is pursuing IRIS-T Block II development, contracted in January 2025, which will introduce extended range and improved seeker technology. Conceptual innovation is also underway, with the Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS) project proposing IRIS-T missiles carried by autonomous aerial platforms, expected to begin flight testing in late 2025. These combined initiatives position IRIS-T as both a land-based and naval asset with potential future applications that go beyond traditional surface ship integration.

For the U.S. Navy, equipping Montgomery with the M903 was seen not only as a technical trial but also as a possible response to operational needs in areas such as the Philippines. A former Lockheed Martin employee suggested the capability might already be usable in operational settings, although independent confirmation has not been provided. If validated, the pairing of Patriot and LCS would allow high-speed, shallow-draft warships to deliver missile defense coverage rapidly to remote locations, avoiding the logistical constraints of transporting ground-based batteries along contested or underdeveloped road networks.

The enhancements to the LCS are part of a wider U.S. Navy effort to expand the mission set of the class beyond its initial focus on minesweeping, mine-laying, anti-surface warfare, and anti-submarine operations. By fitting LCS with PAC-3 MSE launchers, along with other systems such as Naval Strike Missiles, Mk 70 PDS containers, and surface-to-surface Hellfire modules, the Navy is moving the ships toward fleet defense missions. These measures are intended to address long-standing criticism that the class lacks sufficient combat power in high-intensity conflict scenarios. The experimentation continues across both Independence- and Freedom-class variants, as the Navy adjusts its surface fleet composition toward more heavily armed combatants suited for contested environments. The Navy’s broader interest in increasing firepower and magazine depth across all ship classes has become a recurring theme in both procurement and operational planning.

Since entering service, the USS Montgomery (LCS 8) has been involved in several firsts linked to the Littoral Combat Ship program. On May 12, 2022, the ship conducted the first proof-of-concept land attack using AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles from its Surface-to-Surface Missile Module, firing three missiles at a land target in the Pacific Ocean. The engagement was supported by an MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, which provided targeting data and bomb damage assessment. During its maiden deployment in 2019, Montgomery was among the first LCS units to operate out of RSS Singapura in Singapore, a forward base used for sustaining rotational presence in Southeast Asia. While deployed, the ship took part in multinational exercises including Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) and Maritime Training Activity Sama-Sama, integrating with partner navies in combined surface and maritime security drills.

In April 2019, Montgomery became the first Independence-class ship to complete Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT), a program conducted by the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center that included live-fire gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, and surface tracking exercises. The ship has also been employed for early demonstrations of manned-unmanned teaming by operating MQ-8C Fire Scout helicopters during developmental and operational tests. These activities showed how unmanned systems could be linked with LCS operations for surveillance, targeting support, and assessment tasks. Taken together, these events illustrate Montgomery’s role in early deployments, training milestones, and weapons integration trials within the broader development of the Littoral Combat Ship class.