The NATO Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme Office announced that it recently signed a contract worth $3.4 million with an industry team led by SAIC [SAI] to analyze the technical requirements to transform NATO’s Theatre Missile Defence Programme into a program to protect the NATO territory and populations, as well as deployed forces.
According to a press release, engineers from France (EADS Astrium), Germany (IABG), Italy (SELEX SI), The Netherlands (TNO), UK (QINETIQ) and United States (SAIC, Raytheon [RTN]) will form a technical team that will work in support of the ALTBMD Programme Office at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) in The Hague. It is a year-long project that will define the additional requirements to expand the existing Theatre Missile Defence into a Ballistic Missile Defence for NATO Europe.
“The initiation of this work marks a significant step by the technical community to implement the decision taken at the Lisbon Summit to develop a NATO capability to defend NATO Europe against the threat to their people and territory posed by the growing proliferation of ballistic missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction,” said Alessandro Pera, program manager for the NATO ALTBMD Programme Office, the organization charged with developing this capability for NATO, “We will work as a team with our industry and national partners, in close consultation with both the NATO military and relevant NATO Committees, to ensure we get the job done. “