Product Name: Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System
Product Description
The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System is the first
missile defense program deployed operationally to defend the homeland against
ballistic missile attacks conducted by terrorists or rogue states. The system
provides early detection and tracking during the boost phase, midcourse target
discrimination, precision intercept and destruction of inbound ICBMs through
force of hit-to-kill technology.
Capabilities:
Detects and tracks missiles early during their boost phase
Provides target discrimination, precision intercept and destruction of the
target in mid-course flight through hit-to-kill technology
Provides post-attack kill assessment with the Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX)
Team GMD comprised of:
Boeing: Prime Contractor
Raytheon: Kill vehicles, radars
Northrop Grumman: BMC2
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space: Booster vehicles
Orbital Sciences Corporation: Booster vehicles
Bechtel: Facilities design and construction
Teledyne Brown Engineering: Integrated systems testing capabilities and
technical services
GMD has been in development since 1998 and is based on technologies pioneered
by the MDA in the 1980s and 1990s. Extensive ground and flight tests have
demonstrated the system's successful performance against long-range ballistic
missile targets.
