This year's second target intercepted by Lockheed Martin's Aegis BMD
NewsJuly 02, 2012
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
A ballistic missile target that was separating was recently intercepted by the Lockheed Martin-built, second-generation Aegis dubbed “BMD 4.0.1.” The Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB missile also played a role in the Lockheed Martin, U.S. Navy, and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) team’s testing.
The recent Flight Test Mission-18 (FTM-18) testing showcased Aegis BMD 4.0.1’s capabilities to identify, follow, and engage the target of a ballistic missile, all within what the company calls “the most challenging operational environment to date,” thereby “demonstrating its capabilities to engage the world’s increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile threats.” Also participating in the test was the USS Lake Erie (CG 70), constituting the eighth time the vessel and its crew performed successfully in MDA and Navy at-sea testing using Aegis BMD 4.0.1 against ballistic and cruise missile threats.
Having now completed two Aegis BMD tests in 2012, a third test will be conducted later this year. Aegis BMD 4.0.1 was certified last March and has been deployed successfully on a duo of Navy ships, with two more ship installations underway.
Meanwhile, the SM-3 Block IB missile and Aegis BMD 4.0.1 configuration is additionally set to be used shipboard as part of Europe’s missile defense, supporting the Phased Adaptive Approach’s (PAA’s) second phase.
