Key Role for Aerospace in Missile Defense

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (3/4/02) -- The Aerospace Corporation has been designated the organization responsible for leadership of federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) systems engineering and integration support to the recently established federal Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

The company has formed a new division -- the Missile Defense Division -- to facilitate this effort and other initiatives related to support of the MDA, which is based in Washington, D.C.

Dr. John O'Sullivan of the company's Chantilly, Va., office, has been named to head the new Aerospace division.

Team Members

FFRDCs and university-affiliated research centers, in addition to the FFRDC operated by Aerospace, that are principal sources of systems engineering support to the MDA in the Aerospace-led effort are the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, The Mitre Corporation, and Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Participation in the FFRDC component of the national team will also be open to representatives of other FFRDCs, laboratories and selected additional organizations that have expertise.

This approach brings a significant expansion in the FFRDC and contractor roles and responsibilities in developing a capabilities-based ballistic missile defense system, officials said.

Division Objectives

Among the objectives of the new division at Aerospace is participation on a broader national team to perform systems engineering and integration and define the battle management, command and control system for ballistic missile defense.

Also to be addressed are a wide range of multidisciplinary, multiorganizational technical issues, all related to the integrated deployment of ballistic-missile defense elements.