The Army on Nov. 19 successfully demonstrated the ability of the Lockheed Martin [LMT] PAC-3 missile to intercept an incoming missile, the second successful test in a week of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (AIAMD) system.
On Thursday, a Patriot Advanced Capability Three (PAC-3) interceptor successfully destroyed an incoming ballistic missile as part of an Army-led missile defense flight test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The PAC-3 interceptor successfully detected, tracked and intercepted a legacy Patriot missile modified to represent an incoming tactical ballistic missile. The PAC-3 interceptor is not new to the Army. It is the backbone of the Army’s ballistic missile defense system.
PAC-3 currently provides missile defense capabilities for five other nations: the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Taiwan. Lockheed Martin also is on contract to provide PAC-3 missiles to Kuwait, Qatar, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
“The PAC-3 Missile continues to demonstrate its reliability in the field, and it remains the only combat proven hit-to-kill interceptor in the world,” Scott Arnold, vice president of PAC-3 programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a statement. “As global threats escalate, we expect PAC-3 interceptors to continue serving as a critical defense layer in the protection of soldiers, citizens and infrastructure.”
A week prior, a PAC-3 was demonstrated intercepting an airborne target as part of the U.S. Army’s Integrated Air & Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) fight test at White Sands.
The Nov. 12 test involved an MQM-107 Streaker target drone playing the role of an incoming cruise missile that flew in low toward an area defended by an AIAMD task force.