Lockheed Martin in successful test of THAAD

We should note this latest news from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The reason: Whether or not the United States will, or should, defang Iran of its growing nuclear weapon capability is an open question. Arguments can be made — are being made, for example, by MIT’s Barry Posen and Newsweek International’s Fareed Zakaria — that the United States can live with a nuclear Iran and contain it, in much the same way that the United States lived with and contained a nuclear Soviet Union and a nuclear China during the height of the cold war. A nuclear Iran, however, is not an open question for Israel, and there are many indicators showing that Israel is getting ready to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities on its own (the problem for the United States is that, as a result of an independent Israeli action, it may find itself dragged into a military confrontation with Iran even if it did not plan on becoming part to such a confrontation). Now, why should we be interested and the latest news from Lockheed Martin? Because the company said it had conducted a successful exo-atmospheric test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii. The company says that the flight test demonstrated the system’s ability to detect, track, and intercept an incoming unitary target above the Earth’s atmosphere. Preliminary data indicates the THAAD flight test met all test objectives including demonstrating the successful integration of the radar, launcher, THAAD Fire Control and Communication (TFCC), and interceptor; exo-atmospheric intercept of a unitary target; and demonstrating the Interceptor’s endgame capability in a rather stressing intercept scenario. The interceptor was conditioned “hot,” meaning the interceptor was heated before testing. Hot conditioning demonstrates the interceptor’s ability to operate in extreme environments. The remainder of THAAD flight testing will take place at PMRF through 2009.

If Israel attacks Iran, the latter is likely to retaliate by launching hundreds of missiles at Israel, the same way it attacked Iraqi cities during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Syria and Iran’s ally Hezobollah may launch their own missiles and rockets at Israel in support of Iran. Israel has developed its own missile defense system, called Arrow, but any development on the ballistic-missile defense front would be of interest to it.

Back to THADD: A production contract for the first two fire units was awarded to Lockheed Martin in late 2006. Also, the THAAD program recently announced production of the THAAD launcher and fire control and communications unit will take place at Lockheed Martin’s manufacturing facility in Camden, Arkansas. Interceptor production is conducted at Lockheed Martin’s Pike County Facility in Troy, Alabama. Deliveries will support a First Unit Equipped in FY 2009. THAAD is designed to defend U.S. troops, allied forces, population centers, and critical infrastructure against short- to intermediate range ballistic missiles. THAAD comprises a fire control and communications system, interceptors, launchers, and a radar. The THAAD interceptor uses hit-to-kill technology to destroy targets, and THAAD is the only weapon system that engages threat ballistic missiles at both endo- and exo-atmospheric altitudes.