 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Boeing GMD Team Launches Target Tests Upgraded Radar
St Louis MO (SPX) Feb 26, 2006 A Boeing-led industry team and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have successfully completed a test of key parts of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. During the test, a newly upgraded radar at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., demonstrated its capability by tracking a long-range ballistic missile target launched from Kodiak, Alaska. The radar, which provides wide-area surveillance of potential hostile ballistic missiles, recently received hardware and software enhancements, including new data-processing equipment, to enable it to more precisely project a threat missile's trajectory. "Today's successful target launch verified that the Beale radar can detect, track and provide precise trajectory information to help defend against a long-range ballistic missile attack" said Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. "We are extremely proud of this achievement as we continue to deliver increased missile defense capability to our military customer." The test also served as a rehearsal for Flight Test 2 (FT-2), the first of several GMD flight tests planned for later this year. During FT-2, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., an operationally configured interceptor will be launched from an operational GMD site for the first time. A target vehicle also will be launched from Kodiak during the test. The objective of the test is for the interceptor kill vehicle to collect data on the target vehicle; no intercept is planned. Today's test is the latest in a series of successes for the GMD program. In December at the Ronald Reagan Missile Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, the program conducted the first flight test of an operationally configured interceptor. In January, the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, which will become part of the overall missile defense sensor architecture for both operations and testing, made an interim stop in Hawaii during its trip from Texas, where it was assembled, to its homeport of Adak, Alaska. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Boeing U.S. Missile Defense Agency Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
BMD Focus Canada Takes First Step On BMD
Washington DC (UPI) Feb 23, 2006Canada's new defense minister, Gordon O'Connor, made a historically enormous change in his country's position on ballistic missile defense Thursday -- and he did so in a typically Canadian way, so softly and gently that almost no one outside Canada seemed to really notice. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
