L-3 Communications [LLL] Tuesday said its Coleman Aerospace business has been awarded a new five year contract with options valued at more than $400 million from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to provide Medium-Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) target vehicles for use in tests of missile defense systems.
The initial value of the award is approximately $73 million for the targets that are an essential part of MDA’s test plans to verify the effectiveness of its missile defense systems.
Photo: MDA
Steve Kantor, president of L-3’s Electronic Systems Group, said: “This contract for target vehicles will enable MDA to continue to assess the performance of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.”
L-3 Coleman will develop and manufacture the MRBM targets and provide integrated logistics support, including inventory storage and maintenance, pre- and post-mission analysis, launch preparation, launch execution, and engineering services to support MDA, the company said in a Feb. 4 statement
“We are proud to be the winner of this critical competitive contract from MDA. L-3 Coleman has over 21 years of successful target system delivery performance, providing high-quality targets at an industry-leading value,” Kanto said. “Most recently, L-3 Coleman successfully demonstrated our Extended Long Range Air Launched Target (E-LRALT) in the FTI-01 integrated live-fire demonstration in October 2012. This was one of the largest, most complex mission flight tests ever attempted. We are extremely pleased to continue our work with MDA by applying the E-LRALT proven technology to the MRBM program.”
L-3 Coleman developed the first successful air-launched ballistic missile target in 1999 and has accomplished a long list of firsts in successful air launches. The business has air launched single-stage, two-stage and three-stage targets for MDA. In addition, L-3 Coleman has launched from C-17 and C-130 cargo aircraft at remote and diverse locations and azimuths over the Pacific Ocean.