The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has been awarded the Aviation Week Laureate Award in the defense category. This prestigious award recognizes extraordinary achievements in the global aerospace arena.

The award was presented to MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) return-to-flight team. The team isolated and corrected a vibration phenomenon aboard the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) that had played a role in previous test failures. The highly successful Flight test FTG-06b mission in June 2014 validated corrections and improvements to the EKV, and also demonstrated the most difficult intercept yet for the GMD system. This system is designed to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles that could threaten the U.S. homeland. GMD interceptor missiles are located at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Brig. Gen. Kenneth E. Todorov, MDA deputy director, accepted the award on behalf of MDA at the Aviation Week’s 58th annual Laureate Awards event on March 5 in Washington, D.C.

Vice Adm. James D. Syring, MDA director, said, “It is truly an honor for MDA to receive this prestigious award, and I couldn’t be more proud of the entire GMD return-to-flight team.”

He added, "As a result of their hard work and dedication, the FTG-06b flight test success was a very important step in our efforts to improve our homeland defense and provide the warfighter with an effective and dependable system to defend the country.”