Lockheed Martin Team Launches Target Missile For Aegis Test

MISSILE DEFENSE

File photo of an Aegis missile defense test.

Kauai HI (SPX) Nov 17, 2005
Lockheed Martin has announced that it has completed its second successful mission for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA's) Targets and Countermeasures Program. The Targets and Countermeasures Program provided the target missile system for MDA's successful test of a sea-based MDA Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Weapon System Thursday.

Launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, the target missile was intercepted by the Aegis weapon system aboard the USS Lake Erie.

"Our close partnership with the Missile Defense Agency on the Targets and Countermeasures Program made this mission success possible," said Linda Reiners, vice president, Missile Defense Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

This test of the Aegis system demonstrated its preparedness in defending against short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats. The MDA and the U.S. Navy are jointly developing Aegis BMD as part of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors develops the Aegis BMD Weapon System and serves as the Combat System Engineering Agent for Aegis BMD.

"This mission demonstrated our teams' integration and launch services capabilities that are important for realistic and rigorous testing of the Ballistic Missile Defense System," said Jim Tevepaugh, program director, Targets and Countermeasures, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

Key Lockheed Martin subcontractors supporting this test included Battelle, ITT Industries Inc. and Orbital Sciences Corp.

The Targets and Countermeasures Program completed its first mission Sept. 26, when it launched a test missile from a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean for the MDA's successful Cobra Dane radar tracking exercise.

The Targets and Countermeasures Program provides realistic test environments for the BMDS being developed by the MDA to defend against all classes of ballistic missiles. The MDA awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company the Targets and Countermeasures prime contract in 2003. Lockheed Martin's team includes six major subcontractors.

The team's expertise spans systems engineering, design, manufacture and air-, land- and sea-launch capabilities. The Flexible Targets Family approach to be implemented in 2007 will further reduce cost and cycle time through the use of common subsystems and components for reentry vehicles, instrumentation, boosters and ground support.

MISSILE DEFENSE

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