Lockheed Martin delivered the 100th interceptor for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in a recent ceremony at the company’s Troy, Alabama, facility.

THAAD is a key element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) and is highly effective at protecting America’s military, allied forces, citizen population centers and critical infrastructure from short- and medium-range ballistic missile attacks.

“The 100th interceptor delivery is a tribute to the brilliant men and women who have devoted countless hours engineering, developing and manufacturing this amazing system over the years,” said Richard McDaniel, Lockheed Martin's Vice President for the THAAD system.

“As we reach this 100th interceptor, we are now entering a true production environment and are poised to increase volume, improve efficiency, reduce costs and meet surging demand from U.S. and international partners,” he added.

THAAD interceptors utilize “hit-to-kill” kinetic energy technology to destroy missile threats in both the endo- and exo-atmosphere. The system is rapidly deployable, and also interoperable with other BMDS elements used across the globe, working in concert with Patriot and PAC-3, Aegis, forward-based sensors and the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system.

The U.S. Army will activate five of seven programmed THAAD batteries by the end of 2015, and the system’s unique layered defense capability has resulted in a strong demand from international allies. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the first international partner to procure the THAAD system with a contract awarded in 2011.