WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The Raytheon Company announced Tuesday it had "completed fine calibration of the X-Band Radar portion" of the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, or SBX.
Raytheon described this step as "a major achievement in the development of a key component of the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system."
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is the prime contractor for both GMD and SBX.
"With the successful completion of fine calibration testing, SBX moves one step closer to becoming the cornerstone of surveillance in the defense of our nation," said Pete Franklin, vice president, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Integrated Air and Missile Defense.
"The Raytheon-developed X-Band Radar provides a one-of-a-kind capability. It is the sensor that can precisely track targets at long ranges, discriminate them to isolate the threatening objects from non-lethal ones, and perform midcourse hit assessment," Franklin said.
Raytheon IDS said in a statement that it had "completed the radar calibration procedures, including initial, coarse and fine calibrations, while SBX was undergoing sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Hawaii."
"This successful conclusion of the calibration phase allows the radar to undergo final performance verification testing. All key calibration metrics are now within the demanding requirements defined by the contract," the company said.
"As a key sensor for GMD, the X-Band Radar performs the critical functions of cued acquisition, target tracking, discrimination, and engagement hit assessment," Raytheon said.
"The radar will help identify the hostile warhead from the decoys and countermeasures, providing additional capability for interceptor missiles to protect the U.S. and its friends and allies from ballistic missile attacks," the company said.
Raytheon also said that when deployed on the maneuverable SBX, the X-Band Radar "can be positioned in the ocean to support testing and provide radar coverage for possible threat missile launches throughout the world."
South Korea wants to buy Germany's second-hand Patriots
South Korea this week started negotiations with Germany to buy second-hand, U.S.-built Patriot anti-ballistic missile interceptors.
The Korea Times reported Tuesday that senior South Korean and Germany defense officials from South Korea and Germany had that same day initiated three days of discussions to boost their cooperation. The newspaper cited the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, as its source.
"High on the agenda is Seoul's purchase of second-hand Patriot anti-missile systems from the European country," the newspaper said, quoting officials.
The South Korea Times said that the talks were being headed by two of the most senior defense industry/procurement officials in Seoul and Berlin. "Lee Chung-won, director-general of the agency's defense industry promotion bureau, leads the Korean delegation, while Klaus Von Sperber, director of the international armament affairs bureau in Germany's Defense Ministry, will represent Germany at the meeting," it said.
The paper said that the Seoul government planned to buy no less than 48 Patriots under a $1-billion project called SAM-X. The purchase package will also include "launch modules and relevant radar systems from Germany beginning in 2008 to replace (South Korea's) aging ground-to-air Nike Hercules missiles," the report said.
The newspaper said the South Korea Defense Ministry was still trying to get the National Assembly, the nation's parliament, to approve funding for the program.
Raytheon wins $38.6M Patriot upgrade contract
The Raytheon Company announced Monday that it had won a $38.6 million contract from the U.S. Army "to provide increased capability for warfighters now using the Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) configuration."
"The contract is for test equipment upgrades and engineering as the first step in the upgrade of three Patriot battalions (12 fire units) from PAC-2 to the PAC-3 configuration," the company said.
"The intent of the so-called 'Pure Fleet' effort is to upgrade Patriot fire units for the Army's worldwide requirements providing all fielded units with configuration-3 capability following the Army's decision in February 2006 to upgrade additional tactical Patriot fire units," it said.
"This is a significant move forward for the Army and Raytheon as we recognized the importance of providing the most advanced air and missile defense capability to our warfighters to enable them to continue to meet current and emerging threats," said Pete Franklin, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.
"As prime contractor and systems integrator for the Patriot system, we are committed and proud to provide our warfighters with superior battlefield air and missile defense systems and reliable, low-cost missiles," Franklin said
The company said that initial work on the program would involve "software and hardware upgrades to Patriot test stations and engineering to address obsolescence in the factory and key suppliers."
The project will be undertaken at Raytheon's Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass., the company said
Raytheon IDS is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the system integrator for the PAC-3 configuration system that includes the affordable Guidance Enhanced Missile-T.
