Lockheed PAC-3 missile-defense system successful in demo

March 7 (UPI) -- Two of Lockheed Martin's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Cost Reduction Initiative anti-ballistic missile systems intercepted ballistic missiles in a recent test, the Maryland-based defense company said.

The test, conducted at New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range and observed by U.S. Army officials, demonstrated the PAC-3 interceptors' ability to seek out and destroy enemy missiles, Lockheed Martin announced on Tuesday.

The demonstrations were the tenth and eleventh PAC-3 CRI interceptions in support of the Army's Field Surveillance Program over the last six years.

"PAC-3 continues to be successful against today's evolving threats, and it remains the only combat proven Hit-to-Kill interceptor in the world," Jay Pitman, vice president of PAC-3 programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a press release.

"Today's global security environment demands reliable solutions. We expect PAC-3 interceptors to continue serving as an essential element in integrated, layered defense systems."

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency currently utilizes the land-based PAC-3 interceptors as part of its integrated, overlapping missile defense coupled with the Theater High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system. The agency says the interceptors are used daily in operational activities in theaters throughout the world.

Other nations, including South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Germany and Qatar, have purchased the interceptors from Lockheed Martin.