PAC-3 does well at White Sands, spokeswoman says
03/06/04
The U.S Army conducted a successful intercept test flight of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, missile at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Thursday.
Army spokeswoman Pam Rogers said preliminary test results indicated the missile successfully intercepted the target.
Test objectives for the Patriot included demonstrating the PAC-3 missile software and improvements that have been made to the ground systems that enhance the missile's ability to intercept and kill a short-range tactical ballistic missile target. It also was to demonstrate and validate successful operation of components in the PAC-3 missile seeker. The seeker is produced by Boeing Co. at its Huntsville Jetplex plant.
Col. John Vaughn, who runs the Army's Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense office in Huntsville, said the tests were part of a series planned for this year aimed at testing the production variations in the Patriot.
"We will be back out here in June and August testing this system," Vaughn said. "We've done some risk reduction engineering work, and we have put those new pieces of hardware" into production line Patriots.
The improvements should lower the cost of the missile substantially over the next year, Vaughn said. Currently, the missiles cost about $4 million per unit to produce. An Army goal in the last few years has been to lower the cost to about $2 million per unit because the missile is planned to be part of the Medium Extended Air Defense System, or MEADS, the follow-up program to the Patriot missile system.
The MEADS system will use advanced Patriot missiles but with a newly designed launcher and fire control radar. MEADS is a joint missile program involving the United States, Germany and Italy.
By using a combination of sensors, MEADS will be able to intercept missiles, rockets and aircraft at greater distances than today's Patriot system, Army officials say. Testing and development work on the system is being done in Huntsville.
The Army wants an initial launch of MEADS by 2012.
Vaughn could not cite specific costs, but said: "We expect a significant savings after these improvements." Vaughn said detailed prices should be available by the end of the year.
The target for the Thursday mission was an older Patriot missile used to simulate a short-range tactical ballistic missile.
The PAC-3 Missile is a high velocity, hit-to-kill missile and is the newest addition to Patriot family of missiles. The PAC-3 missile provides increased capability against advanced tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hostile aircraft.
The Patriot PAC-3 program is managed by the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office, Air, Space and Missile Defense and the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Project Office in Huntsville.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, in Dallas, is the prime contractor responsible for the PAC-3 missile. Raytheon Systems Co., the Patriot system prime contractor, is the system integrator for the PAC-3 missile.