CommunityEditor
03-30-2009, 09:15 PM
The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency and Army soldiers intercepted a mock ballistic missile during a test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system at the Pacific Missile Range Facility off the island of Kauai, Hawaii, on March 19, Army and MDA officials said.
“This was the first time we did a salvo test with two interceptors for THAAD,” a mobile system designed to hit missiles in the final phase of their flight, MDA spokesman Rick Lehner said. “The soldiers operating the system did not know when the target was going to be launched. THAAD is able to hit endo-atmospheric targets below the Earth’s atmosphere, and low targets just above the Earth’s atmosphere.”
“As the flight test program continues, targets become more challenging to detect and hit, and the engagement scenarios more complex,” said Bruce Whaley, BAE Systems’ seeker program manager.
Ultimately, the MDA and Army plan to acquire 100 or more THAAD systems, Air Force Gen. Trey Obering, former MDA director, said last November. He retired Jan. 1.
“We’ve had 36 of 45 overall successful [THAAD] hits since 2001. We will still have setbacks. Testing continues to expand our envelope. I am confident in the ability of the system to perform,” Obering said in December. The March tests mark the MDA’s 46th.
THAAD uses a BAE Systems infrared seeker to detect its targets.
The Army unit conducting the test was from the 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/03/army_missile_defense_test_033009/
“This was the first time we did a salvo test with two interceptors for THAAD,” a mobile system designed to hit missiles in the final phase of their flight, MDA spokesman Rick Lehner said. “The soldiers operating the system did not know when the target was going to be launched. THAAD is able to hit endo-atmospheric targets below the Earth’s atmosphere, and low targets just above the Earth’s atmosphere.”
“As the flight test program continues, targets become more challenging to detect and hit, and the engagement scenarios more complex,” said Bruce Whaley, BAE Systems’ seeker program manager.
Ultimately, the MDA and Army plan to acquire 100 or more THAAD systems, Air Force Gen. Trey Obering, former MDA director, said last November. He retired Jan. 1.
“We’ve had 36 of 45 overall successful [THAAD] hits since 2001. We will still have setbacks. Testing continues to expand our envelope. I am confident in the ability of the system to perform,” Obering said in December. The March tests mark the MDA’s 46th.
THAAD uses a BAE Systems infrared seeker to detect its targets.
The Army unit conducting the test was from the 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/03/army_missile_defense_test_033009/