BAE Systems awarded THAAD contract

BAE Systems has received a $62.3m contract from Lockheed Martin to begin production of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptor Seeker.

According to BAE Systems, the seeker provides infrared imagery of the targeted warhead to the missile to guide the interceptor to its target. The first THAAD systems will be fielded in 2009 and ready for worldwide deployment in 2010.

‘Once fielded, THAAD will network with other systems and sensors to provide the layered missile defence capability required for the future,’ said Mat Joyce, Lockheed Martin vice president and THAAD program manager.

Assembly, integration, and testing of production equipment will take place at BAE Systems facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire; Lexington, Massachusetts; and Johnson City, New York.

Lockheed Martin is THAAD prime contractor and systems integrator. THAAD is designed to defend US and allied soldiers, military assets, and population centres from the threat of ballistic missile attacks. To achieve the lethality required to defeat ballistic missile warheads, THAAD destroys them through direct “hit-to-kill” targeting.