Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Radar Successful In Third Fully Integrated Flight Test

Raytheon, TEWKSBURY: The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar built by Raytheon Company performed successfully in a flight test conducted by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) at the White Sands Missile Range today. 
 
While an interception was not a primary objective, the test did include a successful intercept of a HERA target high over the New Mexico desert. The test demonstrated fully integrated radar, launcher, fire control, missile and engagement functions of the weapon system. 
 
The THAAD radar, developed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), achieved all test objectives: acquiring the target, providing track and discrimination data to the fire control and communicating with the in-flight THAAD interceptor. The fire control software, jointly developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, also performed successfully. Lockheed Martin is the THAAD prime contractor and system integrator. 
 
“The THAAD system continues to achieve excellent results as demonstrated in this latest flight test,” said Pete Franklin, vice president of the Raytheon IDS Missile Defense Business Area. “We are pleased with the performance of our THAAD components and are proud to be playing a key role in the development of the MDA's Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).” 
 
Raytheon's THAAD radar is a phased array, capable of search, threat detection, classification, discrimination and precision tracking at extremely long ranges. THAAD is a key element of the MDA's BMDS, providing to any combatant commander deployable ground-based missile defense components that deepen, extend and complement the BMDS to defeat ballistic missiles of short to intermediate range. THAAD's combination of high-altitude, long-range capability and hit-to-kill lethality enables it to effectively negate the effects of weapons of mass destruction over a wide area. 
 
Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's leader in Joint Battlespace Integration providing affordable, integrated solutions to a strong international and domestic customer base, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. armed forces.  
 
Raytheon Company, with 2005 sales of $21.9 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.