Aerojet has awarded a contract to General Dynamics (GD) Ordnance and Tactical Systems to develop and deliver electromagnetic control actuators for the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System (TDACS).
The actuators developed for the missile will provide pintle movement for control of the SM-3’s kinetic warhead’s TDACS.
The very small, lightweight actuators provide lateral motion, roll, yaw and pitch control, which guide the kinetic warhead to a precision strike on a target and controls the pintles TDACS throttle thrust.
GD Ordnance and Tactical Systems’ Healdsburg Operations general manager Rich Schroeder said: ‘Our ultra-high-bandwidth and high-power-density actuators have proven to be key performance enablers for the Block IB and IIA advanced variants of the SM-3 missile.’
The SM-3 Block IIA is an anti-ballistic missile that can be launched from ground stations or ships and features second and third-stage rocket motors, as well as a larger advanced kinetic warhead for increased engagement capability and greater range.
The early intercept capability SM-3 Block IIA missile is designed as part of phase two of the current administration’s Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defence. It will be equipped with larger second and third-stage rocket motors to provide defence against sophisticated threats.
The SM-3 missile will be deployed on Aegis cruisers and destroyers to provide protection against short-to-intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in the mid-course phase of flight.
More than 130 SM-3s have been delivered by Raytheon to the US and Japanese navies to date, ahead of schedule and under cost.. The missile is scheduled for deployment in 2018.
