Missle Defense Test Succeeds
Apr 6, 11:42 PM (ET)
By AUDREY McAVOY
HONOLULU (AP) - The military shot down a Scud-type missile in this year's second successful test of a new technology meant to knock down ballistic missiles in their final minute of flight, the Missile Defense Agency said Friday.
A ship off Kauai fired a target missile before 9 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time Thursday. Three minutes later, soldiers with the U.S. Army's 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade launched an interceptor missile from Kauai that destroyed the target over the Pacific, according to the agency.
The military says it already can shoot down missiles in their last stage of flight by using Patriot anti-missile batteries. But the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system would be able to protect larger areas than the Patriot system because it intercepts targets at a higher altitude, said agency spokeswoman Pam Rogers.
The new system had its first successful test last year at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It had another successful test Jan. 27 at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.
A September test at White Sands failed when the target missile failed after launch.
The Missile Defense Agency moved its testing for the Terminal High Altitude Defense system to Hawaii because the New Mexico range was not large enough for the military to do the testing it wanted, Rogers said.
The military also uses the Pacific Missile Range Facility to test Aegis technology that's designed to shoot down ballistic missiles midway through their flight.
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Another successful test for THAAD!
Thus is both personally and professionally satisfying on so many levels. I only have a small role in the overall system, but it's still a real blessing to be able to take part in a program that might one day to save lives, both civlian and military, at home and abroad.
Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the office red tape and various nuisances that always appear in office jobs, but it's nice when I'm reminded of our actual end goal.
