DALLAS — The U.S. Army today activated the first battery of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System, developed by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and produced by Lockheed Martin, in a ceremony at Fort Bliss, TX.
Alpha Battery/4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air & Missile Defense Command will receive 24 THAAD interceptors, three THAAD launchers, a THAAD Fire Control and a THAAD radar as part of the initial fielding. In addition, the battery will have logistics support assets, such as the Battery Support Center and Integrated Contractor Support System, as well as the necessary spares for a fielded unit.
“This is a historic day for the U.S. Army’s Air Defense community,” said Tom McGrath, program manager and vice president for THAAD at Lockheed Martin. “The first battery receiving the THAAD Weapon System signifies that we are one step closer to the day THAAD will be protecting our Soldiers, friends and allies around the globe.”
The A4 Battery is receiving the THAAD Weapon System now to allow the unit to prepare for full-system fielding beginning in 2009. Unit training on the THAAD equipment is already underway. The first New Equipment Training Classes began in April, and the battery is well on its way to creating an operational unit.
“The THAAD Weapon System is enjoying excellent success in this current development phase,” McGrath continued. “THAAD’s precision engagement capabilities, combined with the power of the hit-to-kill engagement, offer the Warfighter tremendous protection from the threats of today and tomorrow. Soldiers from Fort Bliss have successfully operated the THAAD system in flight testing for two years, and will continue as flight testing progresses.”
THAAD flight testing continues later this year, with two flights scheduled before the end of Fiscal Year 2008 in September and two during FY09, which commences October 1. Since November 2005, the THAAD Weapon System program has conducted seven successful flight tests, including four tests involving the successful intercept of threat representative targets.
A production contract for the first two fire units was awarded to Lockheed Martin in late 2006. THAAD launcher and fire control and communications unit production will take place at Lockheed Martin’s manufacturing facility in Camden, AR. Interceptor production is conducted at Lockheed Martin’s Pike County Facility in Troy, AL.
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.
By: SOC - 29th May 2008 at 15:39
There’s no “basically” to it, there is a THAAD radar set in Japan. From what I hear the deployment was supposed to be hush-hush, but they announced in the base paper that the FBX-T radar system had arrived. Oops. Now you hear about the radar having a different purpose, but then the DoD goes and gives both the FBX-T and the THAAD radar set the name AN/TPY-2, basically telling everyone that they are one and the same. The idea that we’d need to base an ABM (FBX-T has been referred to as a forward-based anti-ICBM radar) radar set in Japan is asinine anyway. My guess is that there are THAAD components around there somewhere, maybe even being quietly evaluated by the Japanese, and we wanted to keep the deployment under wraps for whatever reason (probably relating to the North Koreans). Somebody tells the story, and all of a sudden it’s a new ABM radar we put in Japan, nevermind that it is an engagement radar for an ATBM system.
By: sferrin - 29th May 2008 at 15:28
Isn’t that mobile X-band they put in Japan basically a THAAD radar? Also, I get the impression that SM-3, THAAD, and GBI are all in more of a “emergency capability” (like the early nukes) state rather than truely in service. That is to say still in the testing phase but if we need them we have them to shoot. (Speaking of which SM-3 going back into testing and shooting down SRBMs is going to seem like a bit of a joke after that ASAT shot.)
By: SOC - 29th May 2008 at 14:00
Well I guess we’re admitting that these things are in service, finally. When are they going to mention Japan, I wonder?
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May 29, 2008 at 1:50 pm