THAAD Weapon System Scores Second Intercept -- with a Divert and Attitude Control System from Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
CANOGA PARK, Calif., Jan. 29 /- The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system on Friday successfully intercepted a target vehicle with a defensive kinetic energy weapon - or "kill vehicle" - in a test flight. A Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS) from Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company, powered the weapon into the path of the target vehicle. Lockheed Martin is the systems integrator and prime contractor for the THAAD Weapon System.
The DACS system provided roll control of the THAAD missile during booster flyout and maneuver of the kill vehicle using small, liquid-fueled thrusters that allow the THAAD interceptor to alter direction and attitude.
"The mission was an impressive demonstration of the THAAD Weapon System and the DACS in a more complicated scenario, and confirmation of its reliability," said Art Weiss, PWR program director for THAAD/ DACS. "This intercept underscores the kind of repeatability that will be needed for an effective defensive system."
It was also another major step on the way to deployment of the THAAD system. PWR, Weiss added, will commence production of DACS system hardware later this year. The company has been developing and building DACS hardware for more than two decades for THAAD and other missile defense systems.
THAAD is a key element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), and will defeat ballistic missiles of all types and ranges and in all phases of flight.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, offers a complete line of propulsion products from launch vehicles to missile defense to advanced hypersonic propulsion. These have been used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, and high altitude defense systems.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., USA, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
John Mitchell
818 586-4564
john.mitchell@pwr.utc.com
media relations contacts:
Bryan Kidder
818 586-2213
bryan.kidder@pwr.utc.com
Source: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Web site: http://www.pratt-whitney.com/
