Orbital ATK OBV Rocket Successfully Completes Missile Defense Test

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Orbital ATK OA, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, successfully launched and tested its Orbital Boost Vehicle (OBV) rocket for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Controlled Test Vehicle-02 Plus (CTV)-02+ mission. The company also supplied its Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile target rocket for this critical national security system test.

The OBV was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on January 28, 2016. Orbital ATK provides the OBV to MDA as part of an industry team led by The Boeing Company BA and Northrop Grumman NG.

"This test marks the fourteenth successful flight of our OBV rocket, supporting MDA's ongoing testing of its GMD system," said Rich Straka, Vice President and General Manager of Orbital ATK's Launch Vehicles Division. "We are proud to support this vital program that defends the United States against long-range missile attacks."

A Ground-based Interceptor (GBI) intercept was not an objective for this particular flight test. The test began when the GMD fire control system processed a weapons task plan to launch a GBI from a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base against an air-launched Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile target, also supplied by Orbital ATK.

Following a preliminary post-flight analysis of the data collected from the mission, MDA and the GMD team confirmed all primary OBV objectives for flight test were achieved. These included pre-launch built-in test functionality, silo launch and fly out of the OBV, accurate booster delivery of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) and acquisition of telemetry data for further characterization of the OBV's flight characteristics.

Orbital ATK's missile defense interceptors and related target vehicle are primarily produced at the company's engineering and manufacturing facility in Chandler, Arizona, with propulsion manufactured in Magna, Utah and its vehicle assembly and integration facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California and Huntsville, Alabama.

Today's mission was executed under the GMD Development and Sustainment Contract, which continues through at least 2018. Orbital ATK developed the OBV under a multi-year contract from Boeing that began in 2002. Together the OBV and the EKV comprise the GBI, which is assembled by Boeing.

About Orbital ATK

Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs approximately 12,000 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in several international locations. For more information, visit www.orbitalatk.com.

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