The biggest disadvantage of the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system remains its limited engagement sector, not allowing shooting backward. And since russian Iskander-M ballistic missiles began exploiting this, the U.S. is working on a fix.
As TWZ writes, we're talking about developing a new vertical launcher that won't have to turn to conduct fire. New anti-missiles are also being created that will be capable of firing over the shoulder, that is backward.
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It's clarified that new interceptors may be related to restarting the Lower-Tier Future Interceptor (LTFI) program. The latter, which was supposed to replace PAC-3 MSE, was abandoned in 2024 because it was too expensive.
Interestingly, American military clarify that it's difficult for old missiles to shoot backward largely due to software. It's also stated that the means' lethality decreases due to energy loss for turning after takeoff.
Regarding the hardware part of the question, the launcher and radar need to be turned toward the sector from which the enemy's missile attack is expected. So it's possible to throw ballistics behind Patriot's back where it will be difficult for it to intercept.
Defense Express notes that work toward fixing this problem has been actively underway for a long time. So, the new LTAMDS radar provides 360-degree coverage, but only recently was it put into production with small volumes.
Regarding launchers, Patriot missiles were adapted for use with Mk 41 VLS vertical launch containers for U.S Navy needs. Also, work was once underway on a replacement in the form of Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), but interest in the project disappeared over time.
Note that many competitors of the American system, such as Soviet S-300, russian S-400, Chinese HQ-9, or European SAMP/T have vertical launch with 360-degree engagement capability. However, none of them demonstrated such high effectiveness against ballistics and hypersonic missiles as Patriot, so perhaps thats why the U.S had doubts about not losing the main advantage.
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