Aerojet tests Standard Missile-3 Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System

Posted by Courtney E. Howard SACRAMENTO, Calif., 1 Sept. 2011. Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE:GY) company, has completed a series of full-upsystem performance tests on its Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Blk IB Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System (TDACS), thereby achieving key developmental milestones. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the development of SM-3, part of the Missile Defense Agency's sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The missiles will be deployed on Aegis cruisers and destroyers to combat short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats while they are in the mid-flight.

"These tests confirm the readiness of the TDACS for the upcoming critical flight test," explains Michael Bright, Aerojet's vice president of Missile Defense.

Aerojet’s engineers are developing the SM-3 Blk IIA TDACS, a planned missile-variant upgrade to the SM-3 Blk IB, while working on the SM-3 Blk IIB and delivering propulsion technologies to support the next generation of sea- and land-based U.S. missile defense capabilities, says a spokesperson.