America’s long-range ballistic missile defense system recently added a 44th interceptor as Boeing and the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) team announced that a missile had been loaded into a silo.
The GMD system consists of command and control facilities, communications terminals, and a 20,000-mile fiber-optic communications network that connects to ballistic missile defense radars and land-, sea-, and space-based sensors.
“The ballistic missile threat that our partners in the Missile Defense Agency are defending this country from requires always-ready capabilities,” Norm Tew, the vice president of Boeing and GMD program director, said. “As the system architect for nearly two decades, Boeing continues to deliver through our expertise in developing, testing and fielding progressively advanced solutions for this vital mission.”
The 44th interceptor incorporates features demonstrated in an intercontinental ballistic missile test in May. A missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Based in California successfully intercepted a target launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, Boeing announced.
“This successful test keeps the United States on track for a significant increase in interceptor inventory of 44 in 2017,” Tew said in an earlier release. “In addition, the GMD program remains on track to evolve and modernize this crucial national defense asset in the face of an evolving threat environment, with system upgrades and future technology including the Boeing-led Redesigned Kill Vehicle.”