By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press
\nMarch 17, 2009<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The drill followed through on a test that was planned for last September but had to be aborted when the target malfunctioned shortly after launch.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the target missile was fired from a vessel off the island of Kauai.<\/p>\n
Soldiers with the Army’s 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade then launched two interceptors from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai’s west coast.<\/p>\n
Two interceptors were used to increase the chances of success. The first shot down the target over the Pacific Ocean. The second was destroyed.<\/p>\n
“Any time you’re in a combat situation, more than likely you will launch more than one interceptor in case one fails,” said Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner.<\/p>\n
The target separated in flight, meaning the interceptors had to differentiate between the target missile’s warhead and booster.<\/p>\n
The military also has Patriot anti-missile batteries to intercept missiles just before they strike.<\/p>\n
But the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is designed to protect larger areas than the Patriot system because it intercepts targets at higher altitudes.<\/p>\n
Even so, it can only target short and medium-range missiles. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are out of its range.<\/p>\n
THAAD is one of two missile defense systems the military tests at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The other is the sea-based Aegis system. The Missile Defense Agency coordinates U.S. missile tests in cooperation with the Army, Navy and Air Force.<\/p>\n
The artillery brigade is based in Fort Bliss, Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US intercepts ballistic missile in Hawaii test By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press March 17, 2009 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 … <\/p>\n