Boeing, MDA Shoot Down Missile Midcourse During GMD Validation Test

The Missile Defense Agency and a Boeing-led industry team validated the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system’s effectiveness during an early-course interception test.

The organizations used GMD to shoot down a kinetic-force Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle during its second stage while still in space. The GMD, in its Capability Increment 6B configuration, was used during the demonstration, proving its ability to give operators more time and flexibility to stop threats against the mainland United States.

The GMD missile was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, Boeing said Monday.

The MDA has been working with defense contractors to build interceptors for ballistic and hypersonic threats.

In late September, the agency worked with Lockheed Martin to conduct a digital All Up Round Preliminary Design Review for the Next Generation Interceptor missile, which is a part of the GMD system. The organizations used digital engineering and model-based tools to perform threat sensing validation, communications relay and tests to ensure that NGI meets the U.S. military’s requirements.

Earlier this month, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded Boeing a $70.6 million contract to develop and test technologies for the Glide Breaker hypersonic missile interception program. Work under the contract would establish the foundational design and future development for hypersonic interceptor missiles.