U.S. Tests THAAD Missile Interceptor

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency completed a successful intercept test of its Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system against a mock Scud-type missile Friday near Hawaii (see GSN, April 6).

The interceptor missile was fired at 9:15 p.m. Hawaii time from a mobile platform at  the Pacific Missile Range off the island of Kauai. 

Early results indicated the system had successfully used its radar, launcher and fire control to detect, track and destroy the target missile outside earth’s atmosphere through a collision with a THAAD interceptor.  The test also reviewed the ability of U.S. Army soldiers to coordinate the system’s operations.

The agency has conducted 31 successful “hit to kill” interception out of 39 tests performed by ground- and sea-based interceptors since 2001 against short-, medium- and long-range missile targets. 

The interception was also the latest of four successful tests of the current THAAD program.

The THAAD system is the first defense framework designed to hit missiles of all ranges both inside and outside of earth’s atmosphere.  The system is expected to provide high-altitude coverage over a larger area than the Patriot system.  Both systems intercept enemy targets in their “terminal” flight phase as they head back to earth (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release I, Oct. 27).

The Missile Defense Agency has scheduled a comprehensive ground test this week of the Ballistic Missile Defense System involving all of its command and control, battle management and communications systems as well as operational sensors and interceptor locations.

Such tests are a cost-effective means to measure the performance of the entire system as well as tactics, techniques and procedures in a realistic scenario, the agency said.

Canada and the United Kingdom plan to participate in the comprehensive distributed ground test with the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force and the U.S. Strategic, Northern and Pacific commands.

Elements in the test are expected to include the Cobra Dane radar at Shemya, Alaska; the sea-based X-band radar in the Pacific Ocean; the Ground-based Midcourse Defense fire control nodes at the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. and Fort Greeley, Alaska; and the interceptor missile sites at Fort Greely and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Various Navy ships equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system are expected to use their radar and fire control systems in the exercise (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release II , Oct. 26).

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