The Pentagon Wants To Extend the Range of One of Its Missile Interceptors - Defense One
U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin has been quietly working on modifications to its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors, know as THAAD, that would allow the system to protect a wider areas, company officials revealed Wednesday. The upgrade would allow the interceptor to launch earlier giving it more time to take out an enemy missile.
“We see a growing interest from the [Missile Defense Agency] in this capability,” said Doug Graham, vice president of advanced programs for Lockheed’s strategic and missile defense systems. “We’re working them to try to define what specifically that system would look like.”
Unlike the current THAAD interceptor, which uses a single-stage rocket, the longer-range version would have two stages, similar to rockets that launch satellites into orbit. The first rocket would launch the interceptor to a high altitude in or above the Earth’s atmosphere while a second “kick stage” would propel the rocket toward the enemy missile.
“The first stage gets you out longer and higher against modern threats and the kick stage is responsible for narrowing the distance between the target and the interceptor so you could turn over to the kill vehicle,” Mike Trotsky, vice president of Lockheed’s air and missile defense business development, said.
