DALLAS, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin announced a variant of the Patriot missile intercepted a tactical ballistic missile target at its White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Lockheed said the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile test Thursday successfully detected, tracked and intercepted the ballistic missile target.
"The ripple fire engagement of two PAC-3 missiles resulted in the first interceptor destroying the target," the company said in a statement. "The second PAC-3 Missile was self-destructed on command as planned."
Lockheed this week received a $308 million contract from the U.S. military for systems and services related to the PAC-3 program. The contract includes a military sale to Kuwait, which becomes the sixth international customer for the missile system.
Richard McDaniel, vice president for the program, said the Patriot missile system is unmatched in terms of its lethality.
"The capability PAC-3 provides continues to draw significant interest from a number of international customers," he said in a statement from Dallas.
Taiwan became the fifth international customer for the missile system in 2009, following Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
