Wednesday, March 18, 2009

US Missile Defense Scores Another Direct Hit

from Closing Velocity
by John McKittrick
March 18, 2009

In a do-over of this scrubbed test (faulty target, not interceptor) from last September, the highly successful Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system now has a hitting streak of 8 for 8 since 1999:

HONOLULU — The military's ground-based mobile missile defense system successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in Hawaii, the Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.

It was the first time the military fired two interceptors at one target using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a program designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their last stage of flight.

And for the critics who incessantly screech about operational realism, here you go:

The target separated in flight, meaning the interceptors had to differentiate between the target missile's warhead and booster.

I'm kinda getting tired of writing variations of this headline (see "Proven" on the left sidebar).
(I'll post pics and/or video as they become available)
Click to read the article

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