- Tucson, AZ (SPX) - Raytheon has delivered the first deployable
flight elements of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Ground- based Midcourse
Defense (GMD) program from its Missile Defense Kinetic Kill Vehicle production
facility in Tucson, Ariz.
-
- The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) payload is designed
to intercept hostile ballistic missile targets outside the atmosphere in
the midcourse phase of flight.
-
- The delivered payloads evolved from the EKV design that
has been successfully flight tested over the last four years. By September,
Raytheon will have delivered all required EKVs for the GMD program's initial
deployment and testing.
-
- The initial payloads are the first of 20 kill vehicles
scheduled for delivery over the next two years for deployment at Fort Greely,
Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
-
- To satisfy the GMD deployment requirements, Raytheon
built a world-class manufacturing facility combining the quality of spacecraft
manufacturing and the cost efficiency of high-rate missile production.
-
- "Delivery of the initial EKVs marks a significant
milestone in meeting the December 2002 presidential directive to deploy
an initial missile defense capability for the United States," said
Paul J. Walker, Raytheon vice president for Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles.
-
- "The delivery of these payloads is the result of
the commitment and dedication of employees from both Raytheon and the entire
EKV team. Raytheon is proud to provide our fellow citizens with the ability
to defend our homeland against the threat of ballistic missiles carrying
weapons of mass destruction."
-
- Raytheon is also responsible for the manufacture and
deployment of the Standard Missile-3 interceptor for the Aegis Ballistic
Missile Defense program, which provides the capability to intercept ballistic
missile threats from forward-deployed Aegis ships.
-
- Raytheon is also providing the Sea-Based X-band (SBX)
and Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) for the GMD segment, the Space
Tracking and Surveillance System payload, the BMDS Radar, and THAAD radar
and battle management software. The Boeing Company is the prime contractor
for the Ground-based Missile Defense program.
-
- http://www.spacedaily.com/news/bmdo-04y.html
|