Boeing Supports Ninth Successful Intercept Test of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System

ST. LOUIS,- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] played a key role in Friday’s successful intercept of a ballistic missile target outside the Earth’s atmosphere by the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense weapon system.

The test, Flight Test Maritime-12, further validated efforts by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy to provide a sea-based defense against short- to medium-range ballistic missile threats.

Launched from the USS Decatur (DDG 73), the SM-3 Block IA destroyed a medium-range ballistic missile target fired from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii. It was the ninth successful intercept for SM-3 and the third intercept of a medium-range target with a separating re-entry warhead.

Boeing has partnered with Raytheon on SM-3 development since 1996 and builds and integrates several components of the SM-3 Kinetic Warhead.

"This successful test of the SM-3 continues to build confidence in system performance and clearly demonstrates the hit-to-kill missile defense capability,” said Debra Rub-Zenko, vice president of Boeing Integrated Missile Defense. “Boeing is proud to be a member of the industry team committed to providing this extraordinarily effective operational capability to MDA and the Navy.”

Boeing is under subcontract to integrate and test the Kinetic Warhead avionics, and guidance and control software, as well as the ejection subsystem. Raytheon provides the infrared seeker and divert attitude control system and integrates the full SM-3 interceptor.

In addition to its work on the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program, Boeing holds key roles in several other elements of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System architecture. Boeing is prime contractor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system and the Airborne Laser. It also develops and produces the seeker for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile.