The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] played a key role in today’s successful test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense weapon system, which intercepted two ballistic missile targets with two Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) missiles for the first time.
Fired simultaneously from the Aegis Guided Missile Cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70), the SM-3 Block IA missiles destroyed two short-range ballistic missile targets launched from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii. The test marked the 10th and 11th successful intercepts for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system’s SM-3.
Boeing has partnered with Raytheon on SM-3 development since 1996 and builds and integrates several components of the SM-3 Kinetic Warhead.
“This successful dual engagement mission demonstrated unprecedented new capabilities for the warfighter,” said Debra Rub-Zenko, vice president of Boeing Integrated Missile Defense. “Boeing is proud to be a member of the industry team committed to providing this extraordinarily effective operational capability to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy.”
Boeing is under subcontract to integrate and test the Kinetic Warhead avionics and guidance and control software, as well as the ejection subsystem. Raytheon provides the infrared seeker and divert attitude control system and integrates the full SM-3 missile.
In addition to its work on the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Program, Boeing holds key roles in several other elements of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System architecture. Boeing is prime contractor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system and the Airborne Laser. It also develops and produces the seeker for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.4 billion business with 72,000 employees worldwide.