Army, Navy and Air Force shoot down test missile
They team successfully for the blast off Kauai
MANA, Kauai » The U.S. Army and the Ballistic Missile Defense Agency once again shot down a Scud-type missile off Kauai's west side last night.
It was the second successful test this year of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, the mobile arm of the ballistic missile defense system operated by the U.S. Army, and its third successful test overall.
But it was the first time that the Army, Navy and Air Force ballistic missile defense systems worked together to bring down the target, officials said.
While members of the Army's 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, tracked and targeted the missile, the test also engaged radar aboard a U.S. Navy Aegis ship; the missile agency's Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications system; and the U.S. Air Force Space-Based Infrared Sensors system.
At 8:42 last night, a target missile was launched from a ship off Kauai's coast. Three minutes later, officials with Missile Defense Agency said, a THAAD interceptor missile was launched from a launch pad at Kauai's Pacific Missile Range Facility. The THAAD interceptor destroyed the missile three minutes later over the Pacific.
COURTESY MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY
The U.S. Army's Ballistic Missile Defense System had a successful test off the coast of Kauai last night. CLICK FOR LARGE
|
|