BAE Systems,
KAUAI, Hawaii (DefenceTalk): BAE Systems' infrared seeker for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system helped guide the THAAD interceptor to a successful intercept of an incoming ballistic missile target at an April 6 test firing at the Pacific Missile Range facility. The target was destroyed in the test, which was conducted by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin is the THAAD prime contractor and systems integrator.
The BAE Systems seeker transmits infrared imagery about the targeted warhead to the missile's computer to guide the interceptor to its target. The seeker met all required parameters, paving the way for additional intercept testing to continue through 2009. Upcoming tests planned at the Pacific Missile Range facility will be against increasingly complex targets outside the earth's atmosphere.
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 missiles, THAAD destroys them through direct “hit-to-kill” targeting.
BAE Systems began work on seekers for missile defense in the late 1970s. Work on the THAAD seeker began in 1991. The seeker development program, which started in 2000, 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.
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.
