Lockheed Martin Wins Contract to Produce Eighth THAAD Ballistic-Missile Defense Battery

Lockheed Martin announced that it has received a contract totaling $74 million to produce an additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Weapon System for the Missile Defense Agency. The latest award calls for the production of an eighth THAAD battery, which is expected to be fielded by 2025, Lockheed Martin said Thursday.

In a statement, the aerospace and defense company said its proprietary THAAD missile is a highly effective, combat-proven defense against short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. It was noted that the first THAAD Battery was activated with the 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment in 2008 and the seventh THAAD battery was activated by the Army in December 2016.

Dan Nimblett, vice president of Upper Tier Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Lockheed Martin, said the newest award demonstrates the U.S. government’s continued confidence in the THAAD Weapon System and in its unique endo- and exo-atmospheric defense capability. He stressed that 16 intercept tests conducted with the anti-missile system have yielded 16 successful intercepts, or a 100 percent hit ratio.

Nimblett said that since it was first adopted 14 years ago, the THAAD system has benefited from continuous incremental capability improvements, making it well-suited to defeat current and emerging threats. THAAD is the only U.S. system designed to intercept targets outside and inside the atmosphere, it was explained.

On its website, the MDA described the THAAD as a globally transportable, rapidly-deployable capability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles during the final phase of their flight. A complete THAAD battery is composed of four main components – a launcher, eight missiles, a radar and a fire control system.