"... 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
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"...The $2 billion Sea-Based X-Band Radar recently left Pearl Harbor to take part in an upcoming test of the nation's ground-based ballistic missile defense system..."
Reference: www.staradvertiser.com
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"...What purpose does missile defense in East Asia serve for the U.S. and its allies? The official narrative in Washington and Tokyo is straightforward: Missile defense is insurance against any unwarranted aggression on the part of a rogue North Korean regime in possession of increasingly robust missile capabilities. ..."
Reference: www.worldpoliticsreview.com
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"...The Pentagon is building a missile-defense radar station at a secret site in Qatar and organizing its biggest-ever minesweeping exercises in the Persian Gulf, as preparations accelerate for a possible flare-up with Iran, according to U.S. officials...."
Reference: wsj.com .
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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