The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has unveiled a new a data terminal designed to continuously send and receive updates to the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle weapon during a ceremony at Fort Drum, New York.
MDA said Thursday that Black and Veatch designed the In-Flight Interceptor Communications System, which was was constructed by Black Horse Group under the guidance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
IFICS is built to act as a link within the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System and transmit data from the EKV to the GMD fire control system.
GMD is part of the country’s integrated ballistic missile defense system designed to defend against limited intermediate- and long-range ballistic missiles.
Brig. Gen. William Colley, MDA’s program executive for programs and integration, said the terminal will help to deter and defeat long-range ballistic missiles and support the U.S. Northern Command in their homeland defense missions.
Five other IFICS terminals are in use at Fort Greely and Shemya in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
