07:10 GMT, March 19, 2009 TEWKSBURY, Mass. | The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar built by Raytheon Company performed successfully in the latest integrated flight test conducted by the Missile Defense Agency and THAAD prime contractor and systems integrator Lockheed Martin.

"Not only did Raytheon components continue to perform, but the successful missile salvo acquisition and track represents a significant milestone," said Pete Franklin, vice president, National & Theater Security Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "The success underscores THAAD's ability to meet the missile defense mission and provide a reliable and affordable terminal missile defense capability for our nation."

The endo-atmospheric intercept test, performed at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii March 17, was the second successful intercept of a separating target. The THAAD radar successfully acquired the target complex.

The radar successfully placed the target complex in track and discriminated the mock warhead, leading to a successful intercept. An additional first for the THAAD radar was the successful acquisition and track of a salvo set of interceptors. The THAAD radar successfully communicated individual in-flight target updates for both interceptors to help guide them to the intercept point. The test demonstrated fully integrated radar, launcher, fire control, dual missile salvo, and engagement functions of the weapon system.

The THAAD radar, also known as the AN/TPY-2, achieved all test objectives: acquiring the target complex through a BMDS cue, discriminating the warhead, providing track and discrimination data to the fire control and communicating with both in-flight THAAD interceptors. The AN/TPY-2 is a phased array, capable of search, threat detection, classification, discrimination and precision tracking at extremely long ranges.

The fire control software, jointly developed by Raytheon and THAAD prime contractor and systems integrator Lockheed Martin, also performed successfully, receiving and processing the BMDS cue, engaging the target complex and initializing the launch sequence for both THAAD interceptors.

THAAD is a key element of the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System, providing to any combatant commander deployable ground-based missile defense components that deepen, extend and complement the system to defeat ballistic missiles of short-to-medium range. THAAD's combination of high-altitude capability and hit-to-kill lethality enables it to effectively negate the effects of weapons of mass destruction over a wide area.

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