Retour aux nouvelles

2 octobre 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

MDA and Army see successful Patriot and THAAD test after failure

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.

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/01/mda-and-army-see-successful-patriot-and-thaad-test-after-failure/

Sur le même sujet

  • France orders upgraded Rafale warplanes for $2.3 billion

    15 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial

    France orders upgraded Rafale warplanes for $2.3 billion

    By: Christina Mackenzie PARIS — The French government today signed a €2 billion contract with Dassault Aviation for 28 Rafale aircraft and gave the go-ahead for development of the aircraft's F4 standard which should be validated by 2024, although some functions will be ready by 2022. The 28 aircraft will include some F4 functionalities and be delivered to the French air force from 2023. Defense Minister Florence Parly announced that a further 30 aircraft at the full F4 standard would be ordered in 2023 for delivery between 2027 and 2030. The F4 standard will have upgraded radar sensors and front sector optronics as well as improved capabilities in the helmet-mounted display. It will have new weapons, notably MBDA's Mica NG air-to-air missile and 1,000 kg AASM air-to-ground modular weapon, be able to carry the new Scalp missiles and be equipped with the Talios multifunction optronic pod made by Thales. The Rafale F4 will feature novel connectivity solutions to improve the aircraft's effectiveness in network-centric warfare. “We'll be able to receive more data, strengthen our data rate, talk, receive, notably thanks to satellite communication and software defined radio: the Rafale F4 will move even further into the era of data,” Parly said at the Dassault factory in Mérignac near Bordeaux. “The F4 standard guarantees that Rafale will remain at world-class level so that our combat air forces can carry out all their missions with optimum efficiency, whether in coalition operations or completely independently, as required by the French nuclear deterrent,” said Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation. He added that “this new standard also guarantees that Rafale will remain a credible reference on the export market.” The F1 standard was specific to the first aircraft for the French Navy. The F2 standard gave it air-to-ground and air-to-air capaiblities, while the F3 and F3R gave it extended versatility. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/01/14/france-orders-upgraded-rafale-warplanes-for-23-billion

  • Lockheed nets $16.2M contract for Virginia-class sub masts

    25 juin 2019 | International, Naval

    Lockheed nets $16.2M contract for Virginia-class sub masts

    By Ed Adamczyk June 24 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin's Rotary and Missions Systems division received a $16.2 million contract to build elements of Virginia-class submarines, the Defense Department announced. The company will manufacture multifunction modular masts for the submarines' Block V hull, which can be extended by sections, depending on the requirements of the vessels' strike capabilities. Virginia-class submarines with Block V armaments are capable of carrying Tomahawk cruise missiles. The vessels typically carry eight masts, which include a snorkel mast, two photonic masts as replacements for periscopes, high-data-rate satellite communication masts, a radar mast and an electronic warfare mast. The contract was competitively procured through the Federal Business Opportunities website and announced on Friday. It specifies options which can boost it value to $97.8 million. Work on the contract will be done at Lockheed Martin facilities in Nashua, N.H., and Syracuse, N.Y., and is expected to be completed by June 2020. If all options are exercised, the deadline will be extended to June 2024. The Naval Sea Systems Command at Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., was the contracting agent. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/06/24/Lockheed-nets-162M-contract-for-Virginia-class-sub-masts/1891561390409/

  • Under Trump, decision on Air Force’s NGAD will shape fleet for decades

    23 décembre 2024 | International, Aérospatial

    Under Trump, decision on Air Force’s NGAD will shape fleet for decades

    The Air Force struggled for much of 2024 to figure out how — and even whether — to proceed with its planned sixth-generation fighter.

Toutes les nouvelles