China Working hard to prevent South Korea / U.S. Partnered Missile Defense

China Works to Block U.S. Missile Defense Deployment

"... THAAD units are equipped with a high-technology radar capable known as the AN/TPY-2. The X-band radar can spot, track, and identify ballistic missile launches over long distances and very high altitudes. The radar also could be used for “cooperative engagement” missile defense ..."

Reference: freebeacon.com .

Mission success - Target Intercept

Sea-based Missile Defense Flight Test Results in Successful Intercept

Article Excerpt: "...At 2:52 a.m. EDT (6:52 p.m. April 15 Marshall Island Time), an intermediate-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Reagan Test Site, located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, approximately 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii. The target flew in a northeasterly direction towards a broad ocean area in the Pacific Ocean. Following target launch, a forward-based AN/TPY-2 X-band transportable radar, located on Wake Island, detected and tracked the threat missile. The radar sent trajectory information to the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system, which processed and transmitted remote target data to the USS O’KANE. The destroyer, located to the west of Hawaii, used the data to develop a fire control solution and launch the SM-3 Block IA missile approximately 11 minutes after the target was launched. ..."

Reference: www.mda.mil success

Missile Test Launch Success, but failure to intercept

Missile Defense Test Conducted
"...The Missile Defense Agency conducted a flight test today of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System.

A target missile was successfully launched at approximately 3:40 p.m. PST from the U.S. Army’s Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Approximately six minutes later, a Ground-Based Interceptor was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Both the target missile and Ground-Based Interceptor performed nominally after launch. However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected.

Program officials will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure to intercept...."
Reference: www.mda.mil

Tags: mda jan 31 2010 pacific launch, AN/TPY-2, x band radar,
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