October 2, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security
UPDATED — This story has been updated to include a statement from Lockheed Martin.
WASHINGTON — After a failed test in February, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Army successfully intercepted a target in an Oct. 1 test using a Patriot air and missile defense system as well as a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system integrated together, according to an MDA statement.
In the test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the THAAD AN/TPY-2 radar detected and tracked a Black Dagger target missile and provided that information to the Patriot system. The Patriot launch system deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missile and destroyed the target.
In February, the AN/TPY-2 detected and tracked a Black Dagger and supplied the information to the Patriot system, but the missile missed the target “due to an interceptor software upgrade error,” according to the MDA statement.
The error “has since been corrected, as demonstrated by today's successful intercept,” the statement noted.
The success of the test "validates the interoperability of the Patriot and THAAD weapon systems,” MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill said in the statement. “This capability is vital to the Ballistic Missile Defense System to defend against rogue threats to our homeland, deployed forces and allies.”
“We're proud to support the Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Army Program Executive Office Missiles and Space to provide this vital capability within the Ballistic Missile Defense System,” Scott Arnold, Lockheed Martin vice president of integrated missile defense in the company's Missiles and Fire Control business, said in statement. Lockheed Martin manufactures the THAAD weapon system.
The missile tests this year meet a congressional requirement for the Army and the MDA to test integration and interoperability of the THAAD and Patriot weapon systems annually.
Last year, the first-ever test of THAAD's ability to remotely fire an interceptor was a success, a significant milestone in proving the ability to decouple launchers from radars and fire control systems.
The Army's work to integrate the Patriot and THAAD systems was born out of an urgent operational need on the Korean Peninsula.
The effort uses some of the principles of decoupling launchers and radars so an operator, for instance, can use a THAAD radar — which can see farther than a Raytheon-made Patriot radar — but decide to engage a Patriot interceptor depending on the threat picture.
The ability to use the THAAD radar also gets more out of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement weapon fired from Patriot units, which outperforms the organic Patriot radar.
In another test last year at White Sands, a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Cost Reduction Initiative interceptor took out an air-breathing threat at a record distance. That test also showed it can be integrated into the Northrop Grumman-made Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, which is the command-and-control system of the Army's future air and missile defense architecture.
May 21, 2024 | International, Land
The latest variant of Lockheed's Patriot missile intercepted a cruise missile target in a test from a virtual Aegis Weapon System for the first time.
September 10, 2018 | International, Land
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Australia has signed a contract with Rheinmetall to supply military trucks worth €430 million (U.S. $500 million) to the country's armed forces, the company announced Thursday. The deal for 1,000 logistics trucks comes on top of a previous order for 2,500 such vehicles, worth €1.2 billion. Deliveries for the new order will begin next year and last until 2024, the German company said. The latest batch of vehicles stems from the Australian LAND 121 Phase 5B program, which is an extension of the larger 3B segment. “This follow-up order is of great strategic significance to us, providing an excellent reference for other important international projects,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger was quoted as saying in the company statement. “It reflects Australia's satisfaction with our performance and the quality of our vehicles,” he added. “Rheinmetall's latest success in the Asia-Pacific region proves that our products are at the cutting edge of technology, and that the customer see in us a proven and reliable partner, fully capable of carrying out sophisticated large-scale projects.” The Düsseldorf, Germany-based company currently is Australia's largest supplier of military vehicles, according to the website of the state of Queensland. Rheinmetall is establishing a “military vehicle center of excellence” outside of Brisbane, the state's capital. That location is slated to be a hub for the Australian military's LAND 400 program, for which Rheinmetall was formally tapped last month to build Boxer wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles worth €2.1 billion. The award was first announced by the Australian government in March. There could be yet more business for Rheinmetall in Australia. The next phase of the multibillion-dollar LAND 400 program, which addresses a requirement for new infantry fighting vehicles, began with the release of a tender in late August. Rheinmetall is expected to put forward its Lynx vehicle. Companies have through March 1, 2019, to submit bids. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/09/07/australia-rheinmetall-ink-500-million-contract-for-military-trucks/
March 7, 2022 | International, Aerospace
As the German government weighs its options, there is no deadline for Berlin to opt into the attack-helicopter program later, an Airbus spokesperson told Defense News.