FTM-22: Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Flight Test Video

From DVIDS Hub Oct 3, 2013

A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 1B guided missile is launched from the USS Lake Erie, and successfully intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii during a Missile Defense Agency and US Navy test.

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SA: Missile intercept test launched from Kauai site is a success

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Raytheon's newest Standard Missile-3 intercepts medium-range ballistic missile target at highest altitude to date

News Release from Raytheon

PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii, Oct. 4, 2013 -- In a Missile Defense Agency test, the U.S. Navy fired a Standard Missile-3 Block IB, made by Raytheon Company RTN +1.48% , from the USS Lake Erie. The SM-3 eliminated the medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) target at the highest altitude of any test to date.

"The next-generation SM-3 proved itself against a medium-range ballistic missile target at the highest altitude of any previous test. We remain on track to deliver this critical capability in time for a 2015 deployment in support of global combatant command requirements, and specifically phase two of the European Phased Adaptive Approach," said Dr. Taylor Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems.

The test was the 26th successful intercept for the SM-3 program and the fifth back-to-back successful test of the next-generation SM-3 Block IB guided missile.

"This highest intercept to date is a result of increasing the complexity of the testing scenarios, reflecting what we would see in an operational environment," said Dr. Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Missile Systems' SM-3 program director. "The missile continues to perform, increasing confidence in the SM-3 Block IB's readiness for production."

For more information, go to www.raytheon.com.

About the Standard Missile-3SM-3s destroy incoming ballistic missile threats by colliding with them, a concept sometimes described as "hitting a bullet with a bullet." The impact is the equivalent of a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph.

• More than 155 SM-3s have been delivered to the U.S. and Japanese navies.
• Raytheon is on track to deliver the next-generation SM-3 Block IB in 2015.
• SM-3 Block IB will be deployed in both sea-based and land-based modes.

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Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Successfully Completes Highest Target Intercept Yet

News Release from Lockheed Martin

KAUAI, Hawaii, Oct. 4, 2013 – The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team successfully intercepted a threat representative, medium-range, separating ballistic missile target using the second generation Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system and SM-3 Block IB guided missile.

By successfully launching, tracking, and engaging the newest medium-range ballistic missile target configuration during this operational test, known as Flight Test - Standard Missile-22 (FTM-22), Aegis BMD continued to demonstrate its capabilities to defend against the world’s increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile threats.

Building on the success of last month’s test (FTM-21), FTM-22 marked the eleventh time the USS Lake Erie (CG 70) and crew have successfully performed in Navy and MDA at-sea test events against cruise and ballistic missile targets using the second generation Aegis BMD System.

“This threat scenario against a medium-range target represented the potential threats that we’re facing in today’s defense environment – and this latest Aegis BMD mission success, run by the Sailors of the USS Lake Erie, demonstrated the readiness of our missile defense capabilities to take on those threats,” said Nick Bucci, director of BMD development programs at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. “As the targets and threat scenarios become more advanced, our Aegis BMD system is keeping pace with innovative solutions to safeguard our global security.”

The Aegis BMD 4.0.X configuration enables the Navy to quickly defeat sophisticated ballistic missile threats by integrating sensors from space, land and sea for persistent and reliable detection. The central component of the Lockheed Martin-developed Aegis BMD Combat System is the SPY-1 radar, the most widely fielded naval phased array radar in the world. The Aegis system and SPY-1 radar provide the U.S. and allied nations with advanced surveillance, anti-air warfare and missile defense capabilities.

The Missile Defense Agency and Navy are jointly developing Aegis BMD as part of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System. Currently, 27 Aegis BMD-equipped warships have the certified capability to engage ballistic missiles and perform long-range surveillance and tracking missions, as well as an additional four ships in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The U.S. Navy plans to procure seven new Aegis BMD-equipped destroyers, and has also planned to develop two Aegis Ashore systems to perform ballistic missile defense.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion.