The THAAD scored an intercept, destroying the target as planned, according to officials of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and the U.S. Army, which jointly conducted the test. The missile intercept occurred approximately two minutes after THAADs liftoff. Both the intercept missile and its target were fired from White Sands.
The THAAD, when deployed, would protect U.S. military forces in theater against ballistic missiles by intercepting the attackers either in the atmosphere or in space. The altitude and speed of Mondays intercept was classified, the Pentagon told space.com.
The test was the 11th in a planned series of 13 THAAD interceptor tests and marked the second success in the program. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company built the THAAD interceptor, and Coleman Research Corporation manufactured the test target, called Hera.
The interceptor tests simulate how a Scud missile, such as those fired against U.S. forces during the Persian Gulf War, would attack. In such attacks, the Scud would follow a ballistic flight path whereby it would ascend, leave the atmosphere, then drop down from space onto a ground target such as troops or military facilities.
The THAAD would detect the Scud, and launch against it, either hitting the missile while still in space or during its descent in the high atmosphere. Pentagon officials say the objective is to destroy the attacking missile threats as far away from the intended target as possible.
The THAAD is also capable of defending against medium as well as long range ballistic missiles. The entire missile interceptor system includes the THAAD, the test warhead target such as todays Hera, and a series of tracking radars. Future deployed missile defense systems may also use satellites to track incoming missiles and assist ground radars in targeting and destroying the missiles.
Mondays test cost $15 million, including $6 million for the THAAD missile, $5 million for the Hera target, and $4 million in operations costs.
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