Under the Targets and Countermeasures Prime Contract, Lockheed Martin provides unarmed targets designed to represent adversary missiles to permit realistic testing of the weapon systems and other elements of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Lockheed Martin team is providing an increasing percentage of the target missiles acquired by the Missile Defense Agency through various mechanisms.

"The expertise and dedication of our Missile Defense Agency customer and every member of the industry team have made this important mission success milestone possible," said Mike Davis, vice president, Target and Countermeasure Programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

The Lockheed Martin Targets and Countermeasures Prime Contract team has successfully launched unitary and separating short- and medium -range targets via ground, sea and air to support Missile Defense Agency tests, with:

+ Two missions to date in 2008 - a sea-launched missile for the June 5 Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Flight Test Maritime-14 (FTM-14) intercept test; and an air-launched missile for the June 25 Flight Test Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Flight Test THAAD-09 (FTT-09) intercept test.

+ Five missions in 2007 - a sea-launched missile for the Jan. 27 THAAD FTT-06 intercept test; a sea-launched missile for the April 6 THAAD FTT-07 intercept test; a ground-launched missile for the June 22 Aegis FTM-12 intercept test; a sea-launched missile for the Oct. 27 THAAD FTT-08 intercept test; and a ground-launched missile for the Dec. 17 Aegis Japan Flight Test Mission (JFTM-1) intercept test.

+ Three missions in 2006 - a scientific payload launch for the April 13 Critical Measurements/ Countermeasures test; a scientific payload launch for the April 28 Critical Measurements/Countermeasures test; and a ground-launched missile for the June 22 Aegis FTM-10 intercept test.

+ Two missions in 2005 - an air-launched missile for the Sept. 26 Cobra Dane Radar Exercise; and a ground-launched missile for the Nov. 17 Aegis FTM-04-02 intercept test.

The Missile Defense Agency's Targets and Countermeasures Program Office in Huntsville, Ala., acquires targets for tests from several sources, including other government agencies and individual industry contractors, in addition to the Lockheed Martin prime contract.

The Targets and Countermeasures Program operates independently of the missile defense weapon systems programs at the government-to-government level and maintains stringent processes to assure testing integrity.

Prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company leads an industry team with expertise in systems engineering, design and manufacture, in addition to air-, land- and sea-launch capabilities.

The prime contract has two components: providing missiles for ongoing missile defense tests using legacy targets; and developing the Flexible Target Family - the next-generation, efficient product line of targets built with modular components that will provide additional capabilities for increasingly complex testing. Lockheed Martin performs work in Huntsville and Courtland, Ala.; Denver, Colo.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Sunnyvale, Calif.

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