Target and Countermeasures
Mission
The Program Director for Targets and Countermeasures (TC) designs, develops, fabricates and provides capabilities-
driven, reliable and cost-effective ballistic missile targets and countermeasures to test the Ballistic Missile Defense
System (BMDS).
Description
The TC Program Director ensures that targets and countermeasures leverage
available and emerging technologies from domestic and foreign sources, and that this
capabilities-based acquisition program employs spiral development processes to
deliver required performance within cost and schedule at reasonable risk. The BMDS
and its elements verify design performance and assess capabilities in a variety of ways
including flight testing against live targets. The targets used in these tests must
accurately simulate critical performance parameters of real world threats.
Target systems include launch systems, payloads including countermeasures, re-entry
vehicles, and extensive instrumentation and avionics in numerous configurations
designed to test the performance of missile defense sensors and weapons.
To meet the program challenges, MDA has awarded Lockheed Martin a prime
contract to manage the overall missile defense hardware and software portfolio with
an emphasized focus on target systems engineering. The prime contractor team will
be responsible for overseeing the design, development, procurement and testing of Long Range Air-Launch Target
target systems that represent the evolving ballistic missile threats our nation faces.
Challenging the BMDS and elements against realistic countermeasures is an increasingly important facet of the BMDS
test and assessment program. TC is responsible for developing and integrating those countermeasures into targets
systems as well as flight support and post-test data reduction. TC leverages advancing technologies within a spiral
development process that fully supports
the capability-based acquisition target
needs of the BMDS to make
appropriately threat-representative and
cost-effective target systems and
countermeasures available for use in
tests. Advanced target applications in
progress include air-launched targets
and advanced measurement and
instrumentation systems. Additionally,
TC is exploring the potential use of
long-range heavy lift targets and mobile
launch/basing platforms, along with the
development and future procurement
of advanced countermeasures and
payloads.
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Success is measured by TC’s ability to provide the appropriate target system on schedule, at the agreed upon cost, and
within approved performance parameters. The national laboratories provide expertise in the development and
integration of appropriate countermeasures and payloads. To contain costs, several targets use retired components
from the Army Pershing II program, Navy Polaris program, and Air Force Minuteman program, as well as some Foreign
Material Acquisitions. The use of such components is reviewed for treaty compliance and determined to be consistent
with applicable U.S. arms control agreements.
Since 1993, the target program has launched more than 120 targets, ranging from short-range (less than 100 km), such
as the Lance, to long-range target systems, such as the ICBM-class Minuteman II.
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