Lockheed Martin receives $528 million THAAD missile-defense contract

The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $528 million contract in December for production and delivery of interceptors for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The new interceptors will support a growing number of U.S. Army THAAD units.

THAAD is a key element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), and is highly effective at protecting America's military, allied forces, citizen population centers and critical infrastructure from short- to medium-range ballistic missile attacks.

"Our THAAD interceptors are on the cutting edge of missile defense technology. With advanced range, agility and accuracy, our interceptors are fully capable of defeating dangerous missile threats today and into the future," said Richard McDaniel, Lockheed Martin's vice president for the THAAD system.

THAAD interceptors employ Lockheed Martin's proven "hit-to-kill" technology to destroy missile threats inside and outside the atmosphere. The system is rapidly deployable, mobile, and also interoperable with all other BMDS elements, including Patriot/PAC-3, Aegis, forward-based sensors and the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications system. These unique capabilities make THAAD an important addition to air and missile defense architectures around the world.

The U.S. Army activated the fifth of seven programmed THAAD batteries at the end of 2015. Lockheed Martin delivered the 100(th) THAAD interceptor earlier in 2015. The United Arab Emirates was the first international partner to procure the THAAD system with a contract awarded in 2011.

MDA modifies Boeing contract for Re-designed Kill Vehicle

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) intends to award a modification to the existing Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Development and Sustainment Contract (DSC) to The Boeing Company in Huntsville, Ala.

“This effort is for the acquisition of Re-designed Kill Vehicle (RKV) development including: payload development; payload ground testing; integration with the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) and GMD Ground System; flight testing; several test assets; and up to eight initial production units,” MDA said in contract documents released Friday. The anticipated period of performance for this effort will be six years, extending the current DSC period by three years, but only for this additional RKV development effort.

Boeing is the designer, developer, manufacturer, and integrator of the GMD GBI. Boeing, along with its RKV Cross-Industry team of sub-contractors, comprised of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and The Raytheon Company, provide a consolidated product that includes the collective knowledge of all three contractors.

Currently, the GMD system is using a Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) designed to intercept and defend U.S. territory against long-range missile attacks. The new RKV program was hatched following a string of EKV intercept failures.

“The Cross-Industry team will incorporate the most viable technical approaches from each contractor, combining resources that will complement each other's unique capabilities to shorten the learning curve, and reduce the time needed to develop and begin initial production,” MDA said in contract documents.

Three short-range missiles launched from Virginia for military test

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and sailors aboard the USS Carney, USS Gonzalez, and USS Barry successfully completed a flight test involving the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system.

At approximately 2:30 a.m. EST Tuesday, three short-range ballistic missile targets were launched near simultaneously from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Va. Two Aegis BMD destroyers acquired and tracked the targets. The Aegis BMD ships conducted simulated Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB guided missile engagements with the distributed weighted engagement scheme (DWES) capability enabled. The DWES provides an automated engagement coordination scheme between multiple Aegis BMD ships that determines which ship is the preferred shooter, reducing duplication of BMD engagements and missile expenditures while ensuring BMD threat coverage.

No SM-3 guided missiles were launched, the test did not include an attempted intercept.

This test was designated Flight Test Other-19. This was the first flight test to assess the ability of the Aegis BMD 4.0 weapon system to simulate engagements of a raid consisting of three short-range, separating ballistic missile targets. This was also the first time Aegis BMD 4.0 ships used the DWES capability with live targets.

The MDA will use test results to improve and enhance the Ballistic Missile Defense System and support the advancement of Phase 2 of the Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense in Europe to provide protection of U.S. deployed forces, our European allies and partners.

Aegis BMD is the naval component of the MDA's Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Missile defense test fails to intercept target

The U.S. military is launching an extensive review of their missile defense system to determine why a flight test on Friday failed to intercept a target over the Pacific Ocean.

The Missile Defense Agency conducted an integrated exercise and flight test Friday of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System. “Although a primary objective was the intercept of a long-range ballistic missile target launched from the U.S. Army's Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, an intercept was not achieved,” the Department of Defense said in a press release. The interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. “Program officials will conduct an extensive review to determine the cause or causes of any anomalies which may have prevented a successful intercept.”

The Air Force 30th Space Wing, Joint Functional Component Command, Integrated Missile Defense and U.S. Northern Command participated in the test.

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