WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. Missile Defense Agency this week announced a successful test of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense,or THAAD defense system.
The test was carried out Monday at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii off the island of Kauai, the Army News Service said in a statement.
"Preliminary indications are that planned flight test objectives were achieved," the ANS said.
The test "involved the successful intercept of a 'high endo-atmospheric' (just inside earth's atmosphere) unitary (non-separating) target representing a "SCUD"-type ballistic missile launched from a mobile platform," the statement said.
"Primary flight test objectives included demonstrating successful missile launch from the PMRF launch site; interceptor seeker characterization (target identification), discrimination and intercept of a non-separating liquid-fueled target; and collection of data including missile aimpoint, ground equipment and radar tracking/target discrimination and hit assessment algorithms, and evaluation of the missile launching procedures and equipment," the ANS said.
The statement said that the test was carried out by troops of the 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade based at Fort Bliss, Texas.
"THAAD is the first weapon system with both endo-atmospheric (inside the atmosphere) and exo-atmospheric (outside the atmosphere) capability developed specifically to defend against short, medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles," the ANS said.
"The THAAD system will provide high-altitude missile defense over a larger area than the complementary Patriot system, and, like the Patriot, intercepts a ballistic missile target in the 'terminal' phase of flight," it said.
The ANS said the test marked "the second successful intercept for the current THAAD program in three tests, including a test conducted in September 2006 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.,that was not completed due to a failure of the target missile after it was launched."
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor of the THAAD system.
India plans Patriot-type test for Prithvi
India's BMD engineers, riding high after their first successful test of the Prithvi anti-ballistic missile interceptor in November, are now planning an equally ambitious lower attitude test of the system in June, Defense News reported Monday.
"When an Indian interceptor rocket rammed a ballistic target some 50 kilometers (30 miles) above Ballasore in the eastern part of the country on Nov. 27, it demonstrated a capability that is potentially similar to Israel's Arrow-2," Defense News said, citing Indian officials.
In June, "India will attempt to mimic the U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 system with a lower-altitude test of the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) system," the report said.
If successful, the June test would give India the prospect of developing its own reliable anti-ballistic missile interceptor that could give Delhi the two-tiered protection of the Patriot and Arrow systems combined.
Vijay Kumar Saraswat, the veteran engineer who is the visionary driving force of the Indian BMD program in the nation's Defence Research and Development Organization, told Defense News that if the June test was successful it would put India in the same league as Russia and the United States, the two nations with the most advanced and reliable anti-ballistic missile systems.
Saraswat told Defense News the PAD had "two intercept modes, each designed to hit a target within four minutes: exo-atmospheric, or above 50 kilometers (30 miles); and endo-atmospheric, or lower than about 30 kilometers (18 miles)," the report said.
Defense News said the PAD's main sensor "for exo-atmospheric intercepts" was the 360-mile range Israeli-built Green Pine radar. "India imported two Green Pines three years ago, one in operating condition and one as a kit that it assembled," Defense News said.
The report said the PAD's interceptor rocket was "powered by a liquid-fueled first stage that uses two propellants and oxidizers, and a solid-fuel second stage with a gas thruster that can turn the rocket at more than five Gs. The missile carries active radar sensors to guide it to its target."
"The system includes one radar that tracks both the incoming missile and the outgoing interceptor, another that helps classify the incoming weapon and sends data to the interceptor batteries, command-and-control computers, and a transmitter to help guide the interceptors," Defense News said, citing another DRDO scientist.
MDA plans new fire tests for ABL
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is pushing ahead with the next phase of development of its ambitious Airborne Laser, or ABL system, Air Force Times reported Monday.
"The YAL-1A, a modified Boeing 747-400F known as the Airborne Laser, will test-fire its low-power laser in flight for the first time as part of a long-term test phase at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.," the newspaper said.
AFT described the ABL as a system "designed to identify, track and shoot down enemy ballistic missiles shortly after they launch."
"In the current test phase, which is happening throughout the next several months, the ABL will fire its two solid-state illuminator lasers at the NC-135E "Big Crow" test aircraft to verify the ABL's ability to track an airborne target and measure atmospheric turbulence," the report said.
"The COIL is composed of six interconnected modules, each as large as a sport utility vehicle turned on end. Each module weighs about 6,500 pounds and has 3,600 separate parts," AFT said. "When fired through a window in the aircraft's nose turret, it produces enough energy in a 5-second burst to power a typical household for more than an hour."
Boeing is the prime contractor for ABL and provides the modified aircraft and the battle management system. It is also the overall systems integrator. Northrop Grumman makes the high-energy laser and the beacon illuminator laser and Lockheed Martin produces the nose-mounted turret and the beam control/fire control system.
