SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin
[NYSE: LMT] has opened a new state-of-the-art laboratory in Silicon
Valley for the development of next-generation seekers that will
help the U.S. Missile Defense Agency defend against increasingly
complex missile threats.
"The technology we will develop and demonstrate in this
laboratory is important because a seeker is the on-board eyes for a
missile defense interceptor, and it must perform with perfect
'20/20 vision' in the final moments before interception," said
Doug Graham, vice president of
missile systems and advanced programs, Lockheed Martin Space
Systems. "This facility is part of Lockheed Martin's commitment to
research, development and innovation to advance technologies for
missile defense."
Graham and Marshall Case, vice
president of infrastructure services for Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, hosted an opening ceremony for the new lab in Sunnyvale, California, April 29.
A seeker performs an essential role for a kill vehicle, which is
the part of an interceptor that strikes an incoming missile. The
seeker locates and tracks the enemy warhead. It sends trajectory
data to the on-board guidance system, which steers the kill vehicle
to destroy the warhead with force of impact alone to limit effects
on the ground. About the size of a loaf of bread, a seeker includes
infrared sensors, a telescope and a cryostat to cool the sensors
during launch, with sophisticated software algorithms acting as its
brains.
All of today's major U.S. missile defense systems use the
hit-to-kill force-of-impact technology pioneered by Lockheed
Martin's Sunnyvale facility. As
the proven world leader in systems integration and development of
air and missile defense systems and technologies, Lockheed Martin
has developed systems that have achieved more than 100 successful
intercepts in combat and flight testing since 1984 – more than any
other company.
Headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace
company that employs approximately 112,000 people worldwide and is
principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology
systems, products and services. The Corporation's net sales for
2014 were $45.6 billion.
Media Contact:
Lynn Fisher, 1-408-742-7606;
lynn.m.fisher@lmco.com
Photo available on lockheedmartin.com
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin