WASHINGTON, October 16. /TASS/. The US military has made the decision to back off an effort to develop next-generation interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems, the Defense News portal reported citing US Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano.

In his words, the United States military is "not going to move forward" with the project, because it would have been "a very expensive endeavor."

"Those Patriot interceptors are very capable, but also very expensive and <…> what we’ve decided to do is, one, look at continuing to upgrade the PAC-3 MSE [Patriot Advanced Capability - 3 Missile Segment Enhancement] missile," he said.

He added that the United States would focus on "a tighter coupling between the THAAD system and the Patriot system."

"Via that tighter coupling, then you can manage the battle space in a much more efficient way," the US general said.