MDA awards Lockheed Martin $459 Million THAAD interceptor contract
NewsJanuary 29, 2018
BETHESDA, Md. Lockheed Martin has won The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded Lockheed Martin a $459 million contract modification for production and delivery of interceptors for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system; the modification brings the total contract value to $1.28 billion, with funding provided in 2017 and 2018.
THAAD, one of the elements of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), was designed to protect America's military, allied forces, citizen population centers, and critical infrastructure from short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile attacks. The weapon system uses what Lockheed Martin calls it "hit-to-kill" technology, or technology that uses sensors to hit a target head-on, completely destroying the threat and keeping dangerous debris away from protected areas.
The THAAD system is rapidly deployable, mobile, and interoperable with all other BMDS elements, including Patriot/PAC-3, Aegis, forward-based sensors, and the military's Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications system.
The U.S. Army activated the seventh THAAD battery in December 2016; Lockheed Martin delivered its 200th THAAD interceptor in September of 2017.
