Kratos Provides Ballistic and Airborne Targets for Formidable Shield 21 Campaign

June 10, 2021

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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that its Space & Missile Defense Systems Business Unit, a part of Kratos’ Defense & Rocket Support Services Division supported the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet, NATO’s Naval Striking and Support Forces (STRIKFORNATO) and the Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum (MTMD-F) in the successful execution of Exercise At-Sea Demonstration/Formidable Shield 2021 at the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s Hebrides Range in Scotland. The Exercise included two Kratos medium range ballistic missile targets presented at the same time as the Kratos MQM-178 Firejet aerial target drones, from Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division. The multi-national exercise featured 16 ships, several aircraft and approximately 3,300 personnel from 10 countries.

Kratos has supported the biennial Formidable Shield Exercise since its inception in 2017, providing NATO forces the opportunity to improve interoperability in the integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) environment. This year’s exercise included ships from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, participating in a range of live-fire and simulated missile engagements against aerial and ballistic missile targets.

Kratos, along with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division’s White Sands Detachment (NSWC PHD WSD), provided and launched two advanced ballistic missile targets for the exercise featuring Kratos’ Oriole Rocket System. The ballistic missile targets met all test objectives and were engaged by Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors on May 26 and May 30, 2021 off the USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117). Data gathered during Exercise Formidable Shield 2021 will be used to refine the design and capabilities of subscale BMD targets for future exercises. These two launches surpassed the prior record held by Kratos and NSWC PHD WSD for the highest launch within the United Kingdom.

Dave Carter, President of the Kratos Defense & Rocket Support Services (KDRSS) Division, said, "Kratos is tremendously proud of its team of professionals who work diligently and passionately to make events like Formidable Shield a continual success for users around the world. Despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic, they have continued to deliver affordable, responsive and reliable targets to our Government customers and their allies."

Source : Kratos Defense & Security Solutions