BAE Systems,
NASHUA: BAE Systems has received a $62.3 million contract from Lockheed Martin Corp. to begin production of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptor Seeker.
The seeker provides infrared imagery of the targeted warhead to the missile to guide the interceptor to its target. The first THAAD systems will be fielded in fiscal 2009 and ready for worldwide deployment in fiscal 2010.
Assembly, integration, and testing of production equipment will take place at BAE Systems facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire; Lexington, Massachusetts; and Johnson City, New York.
“The entire team has been working together to ensure that warfighters receive a missile defense system they can count on to defend themselves and the assets they are protecting,” said Mat Joyce, Lockheed Martin vice president and THAAD program manager. “Once fielded, THAAD will network with other systems and sensors to provide the layered missile defense capability required for the future.”
Lockheed Martin is THAAD prime contractor and systems integrator. THAAD is designed to defend U.S. and allied soldiers, military assets, and population centers from the threat of ballistic missile attacks. To achieve the lethality required to defeat ballistic missile warheads, THAAD destroys them through direct “hit-to-kill” targeting.
BAE Systems began work on seekers for missile defense in the late 1970s and achieved the first hit-to-kill intercept of a ballistic missile target in 1984. The company started work on the THAAD seeker demonstration and validation contract in 1991 and achieved two hit-to-kill intercepts in 1999. The seeker development program, begun in 2000, is scheduled to conclude in 2007.
BAE Systems is a 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 88,000 employees worldwide, had 2006 sales that exceeded $25 billion.
