An MBDA-Lockheed Martin [LMT] team said Sept. 29 that it has submitted a proposal to the German government in hopes of paving the way for a contract to develop the TVLS air and missile defense system. The offer, presented Sept. 28 to the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), will form the […]
The Senate has approved Air Force Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves to be the next director of the Missile Defense Agency. The Senate confirmed him by voice vote Sept. 15, nine days after it received his nomination from President Obama. Since June 2014, Greaves has been commander of Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center and […]
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Lockheed Martin [LMT] has developed a new ground-based radar to perform air surveillance. Unveiled at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium that took place here Aug. 16-18, the TPY-X radar can detect manned and unmanned aircraft, cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles at ranges of up to about 250 nautical miles, said […]
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) plans to issue a broad agency announcement (BAA) “shortly” to solicit white papers on a new airborne laser prototype, according to an MDA official. An industry day will follow the BAA, probably in mid-September, to further explain the agency’s plans, said Richard Matlock, MDA’s program executive […]
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) probably will have to live within its current financial means despite calls in some quarters for the agency to get more money, MDA’s director said Aug. 17. Overall Department of Defense funding continues to be constrained, and MDA already has several significant efforts underway to improve its […]
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) plans to conduct two key intercept tests of sea-based defenses later this year, the agency’s director said Aug. 17. In October, the Standard Missile III (SM-3) Block IIA, a new, longer-range version of the SM-3 interceptor that MDA is developing with Japan and Raytheon [RTN], will undergo […]
Two Predator B unmanned planes built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) detected and tracked a ballistic missile target during a test in the Pacific in late June, GA-ASI said Aug. 15. The remotely piloted aircraft, equipped with Raytheon [RTN] Multi-spectral Targeting Systems-B (MTS-B) electro-optical infrared turrets, participated in the test “as part of […]
HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) under development by potential adversaries will require the United States to devise new ways to detect and defend against such advanced threats, the head of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) said Aug. 16. Research and development on HGV weapons is “challenging our planning calculus” because it can “complicate our sensing and […]
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a longtime critic of U.S. missile defense programs, recommends in a new report that the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system receive greater oversight to help it overcome its history of reliability problems. Eager to deploy GMD, the President George W. Bush Administration quickly fielded the […]
Lockheed Martin [LMT] plans to fire its Miniature Hit-to-Kill (MHTK) interceptor at airborne targets in the coming months in hopes of persuading the U.S. Army to buy the lightweight weapon to counter rocket, artillery and mortar (RAM) threats, according to a company representative. The first company-funded test will probably occur in November or December against […]
