US Missile Defense Agency Spends $80Mln on Test Targets

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has ordered target modules and re-entry vehicles costing more than $80 million in order to test the US missile defense system, Lockheed Martin said in a news release on Thursday.

“The Missile Defense Agency has awarded Lockheed Martin an $80.6 million fixed-price contract for modified ballistic re-entry vehicles and separation modules for missile defense tests,” the release said.

Under the contract, an Alabama-based industry team at Lockheed Martin will develop and produce unarmed re-entry vehicles for integration into target missiles through 2022. The contract also includes options for additional modified re-entry vehicles and mission support, the company said.

“The re-entry vehicle is essentially the bullseye for an interceptor missile … In today's environment, it's incredibly important to test against threat-representative targets that look like enemy missiles,” Lockheed Martin Missile Defense Programs Vice President Sarah Reeves said in the release.

The modified re-entry vehicles will be designed and produced in Huntsville, Alabama, and subcontractors include area companies Dynetics, which will provide the aeroshell structures, and Battelle, which will provide the hit detection system, Lockheed Martin said.