We do know that the service has conducted other flight testing in support of the LOWER-AD program since at least 2018, when it carried out "successful Launch Test Vehicle flight tests to verify operation of the launcher testbed and validate predictive dynamic models," according to one
CCDC document. The program, as a whole, has been ongoing
since at least 2012.
The stated goal at that time was to develop an air defense interceptor that would have a range of more than 25 kilometers, or over 15.5 miles, and be able to knock down fixed and rotary wing aircraft and large artillery rockets, as well as drones and cruise missiles. The missile would be cued using existing Army radars and use an active seeker of an unspecified type to home in on its target in the terminal phase of flight.