OREANDA-NEWS. The Boeing-led [NYSE: BA] industry team and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency recently marked 10 years of uninterrupted protection and deterrence provided by the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System (GMD). First activated in 2004, the system is the country’s only defense against long-range ballistic missile threats.

"As the system developer, we take great pride protecting the country from the threat of ballistic missile attacks," said Jim Chilton, vice president and general manager of Boeing Strategic Missile and Defense Systems. "Our team remains focused on providing increased capability for the warfighter and the nation."

Following its successful intercept test in June, the Boeing-led industry team is on track to deliver more ground-based interceptors later this year in support of the Defense Department’s directive of emplacing 44 by 2017. The June test was the program’s most difficult and validated significant system enhancements, including improved kill-vehicle technology.

With interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force base in California and Fort Greely, Alaska, GMD is the central element in the United States' layered ballistic missile defense architecture. The system consists of command-and-control facilities connected to a fire control network that interfaces with ballistic missile defense radars and sensors stretched across 15 time zones. Boeing was named prime contractor for the system in 2001.