Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed the delivery of its 2,500th Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) cost reduction initiative (CRI) solid rocket motor and 500,000th PAC-3 attitude control motor (ACM) to Lockheed Martin.
The company has been producing the PAC-3 CRI since 2000 and the PAC-3 ACM since 2004 at its facility in Camden, Arkansas, US.
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Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president Eileen Drake said: “Achieving these delivery milestones is a testament to the commitment and hard work of our employees.
“We take immense pride in these accomplishments and look forward to continuing to deliver the highest quality and reliable PAC-3 hardware to our customer.”
The PAC-3 missile is a high-velocity interceptor capable of destroying a variety of incoming threats, such as tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft.
In addition to its solid propellant rocket motors, the PAC-3 missile is equipped with aerodynamic controls and inertial navigation guidance systems.
Aerojet said that it produces 180 solid propellant ACMs for each PAC-3 CRI interceptor, which allow it to manoeuvre to defend against incoming targets.
The ACMs are small, solid-propellant rocket motors that are located in the missile's forebody.
The missile flies to a specified intercept point using its ground-based fire solution computer, which is embedded in the engagement control station.
Its target trajectory can be updated during flight via a radio frequency uplink / downlink, Lockheed said in a statement.
