Lockheed Martin received contract for THAAD and PATRIOT integration work.

On 17 April, Lockheed Martin received a $200 million contract for continued Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) and Patriot system integration work.

THAAD launcher (Picture source: Capt. Adan Cazarez, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command)

According to the Pentagon statement, the order covers “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Phased Array Tracking to Intercept of Target (PATRIOT), Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile segment enhancement integration and PATRIOT launch on remote development.”

Work will take place at Grand Prairie (Texas) with scheduled completion estimated for February 28, 2022. According to a tender published in October 2017, the contract aims to accomplish the development of capabilities in support of THAAD MSE Integration and PATRIOT Launch on Remote; design and implementation of an updated Fire Solution Computer software and architecture; Launcher Interface Network Kit software development activities; and a trade study to assess feasibility of launching a PAC-3 MSE from a THAAD launcher.

Earlier this month, the Army announced that the two systems successfully talked in a test conducted by the Missile Defense Agency and the service at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. During the test, both THAAD and Patriot picked up a live short-range Lynx missile target suing their radars and tracked the target individually, but both systems “exchanged messages through tactical data links and verified interoperability between the weapons systems,” according to an MDA statement.