Missile Defense Agency, On Sept. 13, a target missile supporting a planned intercept test for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system experienced a malfunction shortly after it was launched and was destroyed by range safety officials at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The THAAD interceptor missile was not launched and will be used for a future test.
Per standard procedure, an extensive review is taking place to determine the cause of the target failure, and this will take several weeks. The targets program at the Missile Defense Agency has been a model of success, with 86 target missiles launched since January, 2000. During this period there has been only one failure, and this occurred in 2001 during a target-only test due to a range communication issue.
Different targets are used for different interceptor systems. The Hera target launched on Sept. 13 was assembled by Coleman Research of Orlando, Florida, and consisted of surplus second and third stage rocket motors previously used for the U.S. Air Force
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