Lockheed Martin and the Missile Defense Agency have demonstrated a live exo-atmospheric intercept of an in-flight, medium-range ballistic missile through the company’s Aegis Guam System, or AGS, at the western North Pacific island.
The demo, dubbed Flight Experiment Mission-02, or FEM-02, supports the Department of Defense and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s capability to defend Guam, Lockheed said Wednesday.
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Rapid Systems Integration
Paul Lemmo, Lockheed vice president and general manager of integrated warfare systems and sensors, noted that the company’s partnership with MDA enabled the transition from contract award to intercept flight demo in less than two years. “This rapid integration of capabilities to demonstrate the defense of Guam was enabled by leveraging proven systems and Lockheed Martin’s systems engineering, production and test excellence,” he said.
According to Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, Joint Task Force-Micronesia commander, the test confirmed the INDOPACOM unit’s capability in detecting, tracking and engaging a target flying missile, which increases defense readiness against evolving enemy threats, Breaking Defense reported.
First End-to-End Missile Radar Tracking
In the FEM-02 demo, Lockheed deployed its AN/TPY-6 Radar, Vertical Launching System, or VLS, in the AGS at Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base. The VLS fired a standard Missile-3 Block IIA to counter an air-launched medium-range ballistic missile.
“The AN/TPY-6 radar tracked the target shortly after launch to intercept in the first end-to-end tracking use of the radar during a live ballistic missile flight test,” the Pentagon said in the Breaking Defense report.