Huntsville, AL. - November 13, 2020 - Teledyne Brown Engineering announced that it recently carried out another successful launch of a "Zombie" target missile. The launch was in support of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) Technical Center's Targets Division at Redstone Arsenal. The Zombie target is a part of Teledyne's Tactical Range Air Defense Missile (TACRAM) contract under which the team designs and builds affordable, flexible target missiles to be used for testing advanced missile defense systems.
The latest and eighth success for the Teledyne Brown Engineering target missile family occurred on October 1, 2020, from Fort Wingate Launch Complex-96, New Mexico, into White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The target launched was the two-stage Zombie "Black Dagger," a realistic threat ballistic missile target for use in testing of advanced missile defense systems. The Black Dagger consists of a Pathfinder Zombie target missile with the addition of a Mark 70 Terrier Missile booster.
During this test, the THAAD AN/TPY-2 radar tracked the Black Dagger target threat representative ballistic missile. A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missile was launched and destroyed the Black Dagger. The test was intended to demonstrate the integration between Patriot and THAAD systems for more efficient defense capabilities.
"We are proud to continue to support efforts to enhance our military's efficiency and capabilities," stated Jan Hess, President of Teledyne Brown Engineering. "Our work, together with SMDC, has allowed us to repurpose existing resources to provide cost effective targets to prove interoperability within current military assets."
As Army and Missile Defense programs have an increased interest in reducing the cost of test and evaluation requirements, Teledyne Brown Engineering's TACRAM program provides new, affordable solutions with threat-representative capabilities necessary to test the effectiveness of missile defense assets. The TACRAM contract, which continues to receive additional orders, is planned to continue through April 2025.
About Teledyne Brown Engineering
Teledyne Brown Engineering is an industry leader in full-spectrum engineering and advanced manufacturing solutions for harsh environments in space, defense, energy, and maritime industries. For over six decades, the company has successfully delivered innovative systems, integration, operations and technology development worldwide. For more information about Teledyne Brown Engineering visit: www.tbe.com.
About Teledyne Technologies Incorporated
Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Teledyne Technologies' operations are primarily located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Western and Northern Europe. For more information, visit Teledyne Technologies' website at www.teledyne.com.
