Missile Defense Agency Chooses Missile Target Contractor
December 09, 2003

The Department of Defense announced today that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded a combination cost-plus-award-fee and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Denver, Colo., for the MDA Targets and Countermeasures Program. The amount awarded today is $210 million to perform target system engineering, design and management with a period of performance from December 2003 to December 2007. The contract has a potential period of performance of 10 years and contract value of $4.6 billion if all options are exercised.

The contract awarded today will provide capability-based targets and countermeasures used to develop, test and verify ballistic missile defense system performance. These targets allow testing of the missile defense technologies now in development to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles during various times in flight, including the Airborne Laser, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, the Ground-based Midcourse Defense, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 and the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).

Targets and countermeasures will be developed to represent capabilities of ballistic missile threats of the type that could be used in an attack on the United States, our deployed forces and our friends and allies. Due to the technical advances that are sure to be part of ballistic missile proliferation worldwide, it is vital that the United States conduct ground and flight tests against these targets and countermeasures to ensure our missile defense technologies stay ahead of those of our adversaries.

News media point of contact is Rick Lehner, Missile Defense Agency, (703) 697-8997.