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Raytheon's newest SM-3 takes out ballistic missile target
PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-3 Block IB fired from the USS Lake Erie has destroyed another ballistic missile target. The test marks the 21st successful intercept for the SM-3 program, a critical piece of the United States' Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense.
"Today's flight test was the second, back-to-back successful intercept for the newest variant of SM-3, and it further increases our confidence in this weapon's defensive capabilities," said Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "We will continue to increase the complexity of the test scenarios as we demonstrate the full capability of the SM-3 Block IB against more advanced threats."
The SM-3 is a defensive weapon used by the U.S. Navy to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The newest variant, the SM-3 Block IB, incorporates an enhanced two-color infrared seeker and the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System, a mechanism that uses short bursts of precision propulsion to steer the missile toward incoming targets.
The target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai. The USS Lake Erie, deployed off the coast of Hawaii, picked up the threat on its SPY-1 radar and launched the SM-3 Block IB in response. Using the sheer kinetic force of a massive collision, the SM-3 Block IB destroyed the threat target in space.
"We've been in the business of making SM-3s for many years now, and the current variant deployed around the world today is a highly reliable, powerful defensive weapon," said Wes Kremer, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air and Missile Defense Systems product line. "What these successful flight tests prove is that Raytheon can introduce cutting-edge ballistic missile defense technologies to time-tested, proven systems. That's critical if we want to continue to outpace the growing threat."
About the Standard Missile-3
The SM-3 destroys incoming ballistic missile threats by colliding with them, a concept sometimes described as "hitting a bullet with a bullet." The impact is the equivalent of a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph.
* More than 130 SM-3s have been delivered to U.S. and Japanese navies ahead of schedule and under cost.
* Raytheon is on track to deliver the next-generation SM-3 Block IB in 2015.
* SM-3 Block IB will be deployed in both sea-based and land-based modes.
http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2117
Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Successfully Intercepts Second Target This Year
KAUAI, Hawaii, June 27, 2012 – The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team successfully intercepted a separating ballistic missile target with the second generation of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, Aegis BMD 4.0.1, and the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB missile.
During the test known as Flight Test Mission-18 (FTM-18), Aegis BMD 4.0.1 successfully detected, tracked and engaged the ballistic missile target in the most challenging operational environment to date, demonstrating its capabilities to engage the world’s increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile threats. FTM-18 marked the eighth time the USS Lake Erie (CG 70) and her crew have successfully performed during Navy and MDA at-sea test events against cruise and ballistic missile threats using Aegis BMD 4.0.1.
“This is the second of three Aegis BMD tests this year -- all of which will evaluate enhanced capabilities and functions of the system within increasingly challenging scenarios,” said Nick Bucci, director of BMD development programs at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors business. “Today’s successful test demonstrates the continuing evolution of the Aegis BMD system and reaffirms its role as a cornerstone of global missile defense efforts.”
The test also marks an important milestone for the second phase of the Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) to missile defense in Europe. Aegis BMD 4.0.1 and the SM-3 Block IB missile will be a shipboard configuration used in the European Theater supporting PAA Phase 2.
The Aegis BMD 4.0.1 configuration, certified in March, is operational on two Navy ships with installations underway on two more ships. Its signal processor enables the Navy to defeat more sophisticated ballistic missile threats as a result of improved target identification capabilities.
The central component of the Lockheed Martin-developed Aegis Combat System is the SPY-1 radar, the most widely fielded naval phased array radar in the world. The Aegis system and SPY-1 radar provide the U.S. and allied nations with advanced surveillance, anti-air warfare and missile defense capabilities.
The next planned BMD evolution will combine air defense and missile defense functionality into a single integrated air and missile defense system.
The MDA and the Navy are jointly developing Aegis BMD as part of the United States' Ballistic Missile Defense System. Currently, a total of 28 Aegis BMD-equipped warships - 24 in the U.S. Navy and four in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force - have the certified capability to engage ballistic missiles and perform long-range surveillance and tracking missions. The number of BMD ships is expected to increase to 36 by 2014.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2012/june/aegis-ballistic-missile-defense-system-success.html
Orbital Sciences Corporation : ORBITAL SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES MEDIUM RANGE TARGET FOR MISSILE DEFENSE TEST
-- Mission Supports U.S. Navy Aegis BMD Test --
(Dulles, VA 27 June 2012) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it successfully launched a medium-range target (MRT) vehicle under a direct contract with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The MRT vehicle served as an intercept target for the U.S. Navy's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System and was launched yesterday from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii. MRT flew a trajectory northwest of Kauai and was intercepted by the Navy's Standard Missile (SM-3, Block 1B) interceptor system before reentering the Earth's atmosphere. The MRT was the eighth medium-range target Orbital has launched in support of the Aegis BMD test program and the eleventh MRT launch overall.
"We are very pleased to support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy Aegis BMD program with another successful target launch, including a positive hit indication from the Orbital-developed target object." said Mr. Ron Wiley, Senior Vice President of Suborbital Targets Programs. "The MRT target has been a highly-reliable, cost-effective workhorse for many years, maintaining a perfect record for being on time and in the box."
Orbital originally developed the MRT multiple-launch-mode target vehicle over a two-year period under contract to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC), according to specifications that require launch capability from ground, air, or sea. The first flight in April 2005 demonstrated the air launch mission concept executed via parachute extraction and descent from an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft, which is necessary to support U.S. Army Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) tests. MRT has now successfully supported eight ground launch missions for Aegis BMD and two operational air-launched missions for THAAD.
Orbital is one of the country's most experienced developers and operators of missile defense-related launch vehicles. The company supports virtually all of the country's major missile defense programs with cost-effective and highly-reliable target vehicles. In addition to the Aegis BMD, Orbital's target vehicles are used to test MDA's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD), the U.S. Army's Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD system. Orbital also produces the "Coyote" ramjet-powered sea-skimming supersonic target vehicle for the U.S. Navy's ship self-defense systems.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/idUS185082+27-Jun-2012+HUG20120627
PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-3 Block IB fired from the USS Lake Erie has destroyed another ballistic missile target. The test marks the 21st successful intercept for the SM-3 program, a critical piece of the United States' Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense.
"Today's flight test was the second, back-to-back successful intercept for the newest variant of SM-3, and it further increases our confidence in this weapon's defensive capabilities," said Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "We will continue to increase the complexity of the test scenarios as we demonstrate the full capability of the SM-3 Block IB against more advanced threats."
The SM-3 is a defensive weapon used by the U.S. Navy to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The newest variant, the SM-3 Block IB, incorporates an enhanced two-color infrared seeker and the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System, a mechanism that uses short bursts of precision propulsion to steer the missile toward incoming targets.
The target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai. The USS Lake Erie, deployed off the coast of Hawaii, picked up the threat on its SPY-1 radar and launched the SM-3 Block IB in response. Using the sheer kinetic force of a massive collision, the SM-3 Block IB destroyed the threat target in space.
"We've been in the business of making SM-3s for many years now, and the current variant deployed around the world today is a highly reliable, powerful defensive weapon," said Wes Kremer, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air and Missile Defense Systems product line. "What these successful flight tests prove is that Raytheon can introduce cutting-edge ballistic missile defense technologies to time-tested, proven systems. That's critical if we want to continue to outpace the growing threat."
About the Standard Missile-3
The SM-3 destroys incoming ballistic missile threats by colliding with them, a concept sometimes described as "hitting a bullet with a bullet." The impact is the equivalent of a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph.
* More than 130 SM-3s have been delivered to U.S. and Japanese navies ahead of schedule and under cost.
* Raytheon is on track to deliver the next-generation SM-3 Block IB in 2015.
* SM-3 Block IB will be deployed in both sea-based and land-based modes.
http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2117
Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Successfully Intercepts Second Target This Year
KAUAI, Hawaii, June 27, 2012 – The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team successfully intercepted a separating ballistic missile target with the second generation of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, Aegis BMD 4.0.1, and the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB missile.
During the test known as Flight Test Mission-18 (FTM-18), Aegis BMD 4.0.1 successfully detected, tracked and engaged the ballistic missile target in the most challenging operational environment to date, demonstrating its capabilities to engage the world’s increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile threats. FTM-18 marked the eighth time the USS Lake Erie (CG 70) and her crew have successfully performed during Navy and MDA at-sea test events against cruise and ballistic missile threats using Aegis BMD 4.0.1.
“This is the second of three Aegis BMD tests this year -- all of which will evaluate enhanced capabilities and functions of the system within increasingly challenging scenarios,” said Nick Bucci, director of BMD development programs at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors business. “Today’s successful test demonstrates the continuing evolution of the Aegis BMD system and reaffirms its role as a cornerstone of global missile defense efforts.”
The test also marks an important milestone for the second phase of the Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) to missile defense in Europe. Aegis BMD 4.0.1 and the SM-3 Block IB missile will be a shipboard configuration used in the European Theater supporting PAA Phase 2.
The Aegis BMD 4.0.1 configuration, certified in March, is operational on two Navy ships with installations underway on two more ships. Its signal processor enables the Navy to defeat more sophisticated ballistic missile threats as a result of improved target identification capabilities.
The central component of the Lockheed Martin-developed Aegis Combat System is the SPY-1 radar, the most widely fielded naval phased array radar in the world. The Aegis system and SPY-1 radar provide the U.S. and allied nations with advanced surveillance, anti-air warfare and missile defense capabilities.
The next planned BMD evolution will combine air defense and missile defense functionality into a single integrated air and missile defense system.
The MDA and the Navy are jointly developing Aegis BMD as part of the United States' Ballistic Missile Defense System. Currently, a total of 28 Aegis BMD-equipped warships - 24 in the U.S. Navy and four in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force - have the certified capability to engage ballistic missiles and perform long-range surveillance and tracking missions. The number of BMD ships is expected to increase to 36 by 2014.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2012/june/aegis-ballistic-missile-defense-system-success.html
Orbital Sciences Corporation : ORBITAL SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES MEDIUM RANGE TARGET FOR MISSILE DEFENSE TEST
-- Mission Supports U.S. Navy Aegis BMD Test --
(Dulles, VA 27 June 2012) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it successfully launched a medium-range target (MRT) vehicle under a direct contract with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The MRT vehicle served as an intercept target for the U.S. Navy's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System and was launched yesterday from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii. MRT flew a trajectory northwest of Kauai and was intercepted by the Navy's Standard Missile (SM-3, Block 1B) interceptor system before reentering the Earth's atmosphere. The MRT was the eighth medium-range target Orbital has launched in support of the Aegis BMD test program and the eleventh MRT launch overall.
"We are very pleased to support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy Aegis BMD program with another successful target launch, including a positive hit indication from the Orbital-developed target object." said Mr. Ron Wiley, Senior Vice President of Suborbital Targets Programs. "The MRT target has been a highly-reliable, cost-effective workhorse for many years, maintaining a perfect record for being on time and in the box."
Orbital originally developed the MRT multiple-launch-mode target vehicle over a two-year period under contract to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC), according to specifications that require launch capability from ground, air, or sea. The first flight in April 2005 demonstrated the air launch mission concept executed via parachute extraction and descent from an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft, which is necessary to support U.S. Army Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) tests. MRT has now successfully supported eight ground launch missions for Aegis BMD and two operational air-launched missions for THAAD.
Orbital is one of the country's most experienced developers and operators of missile defense-related launch vehicles. The company supports virtually all of the country's major missile defense programs with cost-effective and highly-reliable target vehicles. In addition to the Aegis BMD, Orbital's target vehicles are used to test MDA's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD), the U.S. Army's Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD system. Orbital also produces the "Coyote" ramjet-powered sea-skimming supersonic target vehicle for the U.S. Navy's ship self-defense systems.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/idUS185082+27-Jun-2012+HUG20120627
