KAUAI, Hawaii–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor –
successfully guided by a BAE Systems’ infrared
seeker – directly hit and destroyed an
incoming target during an Oct. 26 test here at the Pacific Missile Range
Facility.
The test was conducted by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Lockheed
Martin, the THAAD weapon system’s prime
contractor and systems integrator.
“In this test, THAAD missile intercepted its
target at a higher altitude than any other test to date,”
said John Watkins, BAE Systems’ THAAD program
manager in Nashua, New Hampshire. “This test,
combined with three previous intercepts, shows that THAAD can
successfully take out an enemy ballistic missile.”
THAAD is designed to defend U.S. and allied soldiers, military assets,
and population centers from the threat of ballistic missile attacks. The
sophisticated system destroys enemy warheads through direct “hit-to-kill”
technology. “It’s
like hitting a bullet with a bullet,” Watkins
said.
The BAE Systems seeker provides infrared imagery of the targeted warhead
to guide the interceptor to its target. This success is part of THAAD
intercept testing that will continue through 2009. Upcoming tests at the
Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii will be conducted against increasingly
complex targets outside the earth’s
atmosphere.
BAE Systems began work on seekers for missile defense in the late 1970s.
Initial work on the THAAD seeker began in 1991. The seeker development
program started in 2000 and is scheduled to conclude in December 2007. A
manufacturing contract awarded in December 2006 will lead to the
delivery of the first unit equipped in fiscal year 2009.
About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier global defense and aerospace company,
delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and
naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology
solutions, and customer support services. BAE Systems, with 96,000
employees worldwide, had 2006 sales that exceeded $27 billion on a pro
forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings, Inc. for the
whole of 2006.
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