Orbital ATK Successfully Completes Launch of Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Target for Missile Defense Agency
July 11 2017 - 9:17AM
Business Wire
IRBM Target a Critical Element of US Missile
Shield Testing
Test Validates THAAD Missile Defense
System
Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies, announced the successful launch of its Intermediate
Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) target for the Missile Defense
Agency (MDA). The target was launched in support of the Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) flight test program for MDA.
The IRBM target was air-dropped from the cargo hold of a C-17
aircraft and lowered by parachutes before igniting and performing
its mission of simulating an intermediate range ballistic missile
threat. The company’s air-launched IRBM system provides MDA with
increased flexibility in testing its Ballistic Missile Defense
System (BMDS). These tests are a critical element of the U.S.
missile shield.
“Orbital ATK designed the IRBM to provide more flexible targets
at a lower cost to meet the customer’s current and future needs,”
said Rich Straka, Vice President and General Manager of Orbital
ATK’s Launch Vehicles Division. “Congratulations to our Orbital ATK
employees and the entire MDA team for mission success on this
flight test.”
The company’s IRBM target program currently has a contract
ceiling of $1.4 billion, including all options. A total of sixteen
vehicles are now under contract through 2019 with options for
additional vehicles.
“Orbital ATK takes great pride in our contribution of designing
and deploying sophisticated target systems to test the nation’s
missile defense systems against all possible threats,” said Straka.
“We remain committed to the defense of this nation and our allies
around the world.”
The IRBM target uses the company’s Orion family of solid rocket
motors, originally designed for the air-launched Pegasus space
launch vehicle. Other Orbital ATK rockets that use Orion motors
include the Minotaur family of vehicles and the Orbital Boost
Vehicle (OBV) long-range interceptor for MDA’s Ground-Based
Midcourse Defense (GMD) program. Employees from Orbital ATK’s
facilities in Huntsville, Alabama; Chandler, Arizona; and Magna and
Clearfield, Utah, contributed to this successful test.
Orbital ATK provides a complete suite of threat-representative
missiles target products, spanning short-, medium-, intermediate-
and long-range ballistic missiles that use both new and surplus
rocket motors to provide the best value to MDA and other U.S.
government agencies. The company also produces short-range
ramjet-propelled targets for the U.S. Navy, including sea-skimming
and high-altitude variants, for ship self-defense exercises. During
the past 30 years, Orbital ATK has built and launched more than 200
target vehicles from 11 launch sites around the world.
About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space,
defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both
as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products
include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile
products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons,
armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space
components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs
approximately 13,000 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in
several international locations. For more information, visit
www.orbitalatk.com.
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