THAAD thumps ballistic missile

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) Weapon System detected and intercepted an incoming ballistic missile target using a BAE Systems-built seeker during a recent test firing.

The test was conducted by the US Missile Defense Agency. Lockheed Martin is THAAD prime contractor and systems integrator.

The test examined how the interceptor and its seeker detect an incoming target missile in order to destroy it. BAE Systems’ seeker provides infrared imagery of the targeted warhead to the missile computer for use in guiding the interceptor to its target.

‘This was the second time that the THAAD seeker performed in a successful intercept,’ said John Watkins, BAE Systems’ THAAD program manager in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The first successful intercept by the THAAD weapon system was at White Sands, New Mexico, in July 2006, during a seeker characterisation test. The seeker is said to have met all required parameters, paving the way for additional intercept testing to continue through 2009.