Video footage described below will be available today at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time for a period of 10 minutes from satellite IA 6, K-11 transponder, downlink frequency 11929 vertical.

The Army conducted a flight test of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile system at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. today at approximately 7:15 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Preliminary test data indicates two targets were successfully intercepted and mission objectives were achieved.

Test objectives of this mission included demonstrating the performance of a PAC-3 Missile with hardware changes that improve producibility and reduce missile cost. The test was also intended to demonstrate the system's capability to detect, track engage and intercept a short-range tactical ballistic missile target and a low-altitude cruise missile target. The targets for the mission were a Patriot-as-a-Target (PAAT), a Patriot legacy missile modified to represent a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM); and an MQM-107 subscale drone aircraft, representing a cruise missile.

Soldiers of the 1-7, 2-43 and 3-2 Air Defense Artillery, Fort Bliss, Texas, participated in today's test.

   The mission video depicts the following:
   Scene 1:  Launch of MQM-107 drone configured as a cruise missile target.
   Scene 2:  Patriot-as-a-Target (PAAT) launch and fly-out.
   Scene 3:  Launch and flyout of first missile in ripple launch against the
             PAAT.
   Scene 4:  Another view of the ripple launch against the PAAT, with
             flyout, intercept and automatic self-destruct of the second
             missile in the ripple.
   Scene 5:  Launch of missile number three against MQM-107 drone with
             flyout and intercept.

The PAC-3 system successfully completed operational testing and began fielding in 2002. It was first used in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

The PAC-3 Missile is a high velocity, hit-to-kill missile and is the newest addition to the Patriot family of missiles. It provides increased capability against advanced tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and other air-breathing threats.

The Patriot PAC-3 program is managed by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Air, Space and Missile Defense and executed by the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Project Office in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, is the prime contractor responsible for the PAC-3 missile segment. Raytheon Systems Company, the Patriot system prime contractor, is the system integrator for the PAC-3 missile segment.

CONTACT: Pamela S. Rogers, Public Affairs Office of U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, +1-256-509-4966, or +1-505-678-1134, or pamela.rogers@redstone.army.mil .

PRNewswire -- Sept. 2

SOURCE: U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command