Boeing-Led Missile Defense Team Scores Another “Hit” – Successful System Test Includes Intercept Over Pacific

The Ground-based Midcourse
Defense (GMD) program’s Integrated Flight Test was once again a success
— resulting in an intercept and complete destruction of the incoming
target.

Tonight’s test, referred to as Integrated Flight Test – 9, was the
fifth system-level test of the program, incorporating all major elements
into the test scenario. The intercept occurred over the Pacific Ocean
at approximately 10:30 p.m. EDT. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems,
a unit of The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] is the prime contractor for
the GMD Program.

With today’s successful test, there have been five successful intercepts
in seven flight tests since 1999, with approximately 17 more scheduled
to take place over the next several years of the developmental test
program. The Joint Program Office of the Department of Defense Missile
Defense Agency directs the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program.

The flight-test sequence began with a target vehicle launch from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Defense Support Program satellites
detected the target booster, equipped with a mock reentry vehicle
and decoys, and the GMD Battle Management, Command, Control and Communications
(BMC3) was alerted. BMC3 cued ground-based radars that tracked the
target complex and provided more accurate target information to the
BMC3. The BMC3 provided a weapon-tasking plan to the interceptor and
gave the commands leading to the launch of the interceptor vehicle
from the Reagan Test Site in the central Pacific Ocean approximately
20 minutes later.

Following booster separation, the BMC3 provided final target tracking
information to the kill vehicle through the In-Flight Interceptor
Communication System. The kill vehicle intercepted and destroyed the
target by hitting body-to-body at an altitude of approximately 140
miles and a closing speed in excess of 15,000 miles per hour.

GMD has been in advanced development since 1998 and is based on technologies
pioneered by the Missile Defense Agency in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
It is currently a research and development program incorporating extensive
ground and flight tests to determine system performance against long-range
ballistic missile targets. While there has been no commitment to deploy
the GMD technology, extensive testing efforts are scheduled to take
place under operationally realistic conditions with the establishment
of a new testbed in the central and northern Pacific Ocean. A new
testbed complex is planned for Fort Greely, Alaska beginning in 2004.

Boeing is responsible for the development and integration of the
GMD components, including the Ground-Based Interceptor, Ground-Based
Radar Prototype, Battle Management, Command, Control and Communication
systems, Early Warning Radars and interfaces to the Defense Support
Program. Major team members include the Raytheon Company (kill vehicle,
radars); TRW (BMC2); and Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Missiles &
Space Operations.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems,
is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered
in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $23 billion business.
It provides systems solutions to its global military, government and
commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance; the world’s largest military aircraft manufacturer;
the world’s largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider
of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for
U.S. missile defense; NASA’s largest contractor; and a global leader
in launch services.