Japan Tests PAC-3 at White Sands
(NSI News Source Info) September 25, 2008: The Japanese Self Defense Forces test-fired a Patriot Advanced Capability – 3 (PAC-3) missile Sept. 17 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., marking the first foreign PAC-3 test there, Lockheed officials said.
"The Japanese were well trained. The missile shot came off without any hitches and was extremely successful. We used a surrogate tactical ballistic missile for the test," said retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Dennis Cavin, Lockheed vice president of air and missile and defense. The Japanese "a robust Patriot system architecture and they are improving as we speak. The Japanese began fielding their own Patriot fire units more than 10 years ago."
Lockheed Martin sells Patriots via direct commercial sales with the Japanese government. Some production is subcontracted to Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industry.
Similar to the Japanese, the German, Dutch and U.S. Armies are upgrading their PAC-2 missiles to the PAC-3 variant, which slams into its target.
"Hit-to-kill technology is the chosen technology that all U.S. air defense missile systems are going to," said Cavin, citing the Standard Missile-3 and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense. "A PAC-3 warhead must have body-to-body contact at a precise point to destroy the target. They only way you can achieve that is through speed and mass, and a hit-to-kill kinetic energy is much faster than one packed with explosives."
The hit-to-kill intercept technology for the PAC-3 evolved out of U.S. Army experiences with the use of early Patriot missiles in the Gulf War.
"What we learned from our experiences in Desert Storm is that we were not able to hit the warhead in all cases. We knew we had to improve that capability," said Cavin.
The PAC-3 system can track multiple targets, Cavin said.
"Radar feeds data into a fire solution computer. That computer picks an intercept point in space and then the missile turns on its own on-board seeker and acquires the target. It has an exceptionally fast on-board computer. As you are doing the final computations on-board the missile itself, your radar on the ground can look for other targets," he said.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Japan Tests PAC-3 at White Sands
Japan Tests PAC-3 at White Sands
(NSI News Source Info) September 25, 2008: The Japanese Self Defense Forces test-fired a Patriot Advanced Capability – 3 (PAC-3) missile Sept. 17 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., marking the first foreign PAC-3 test there, Lockheed officials said.
"The Japanese were well trained. The missile shot came off without any hitches and was extremely successful. We used a surrogate tactical ballistic missile for the test," said retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Dennis Cavin, Lockheed vice president of air and missile and defense. The Japanese "a robust Patriot system architecture and they are improving as we speak. The Japanese began fielding their own Patriot fire units more than 10 years ago."
Lockheed Martin sells Patriots via direct commercial sales with the Japanese government. Some production is subcontracted to Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industry.
Similar to the Japanese, the German, Dutch and U.S. Armies are upgrading their PAC-2 missiles to the PAC-3 variant, which slams into its target.
"Hit-to-kill technology is the chosen technology that all U.S. air defense missile systems are going to," said Cavin, citing the Standard Missile-3 and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense. "A PAC-3 warhead must have body-to-body contact at a precise point to destroy the target. They only way you can achieve that is through speed and mass, and a hit-to-kill kinetic energy is much faster than one packed with explosives."
The hit-to-kill intercept technology for the PAC-3 evolved out of U.S. Army experiences with the use of early Patriot missiles in the Gulf War.
"What we learned from our experiences in Desert Storm is that we were not able to hit the warhead in all cases. We knew we had to improve that capability," said Cavin.
The PAC-3 system can track multiple targets, Cavin said.
"Radar feeds data into a fire solution computer. That computer picks an intercept point in space and then the missile turns on its own on-board seeker and acquires the target. It has an exceptionally fast on-board computer. As you are doing the final computations on-board the missile itself, your radar on the ground can look for other targets," he said.
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