Target Missile Destroyed By Range Officials

A "Hera" target missile launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico malfunctioned after launch yesterday, prompting safety officials to destroy it.

The missile was fired as part of a test for an Army missile defense system. The US Missile Defense Agency said Northrop Grumman Corp was responsible for the errant missile.

In a statement, the agency said an anomaly occurred shortly after the missile was launched. Range safety officers destroyed it two minutes later.

Northrop officials said they provide independent engineering analysis of existing vehicles citing 44 consecutive successful launches.

Company spokeswoman Marynoele Benson told Reuters, "At this time, it is too early for us to speculate on what occurred during this test."

This test was to be part of an ongoing series furthering the development of the Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Designed to protect the nation from a ballistic missile attack, this system is becoming a higher priority in light of recent ballistic missile testing by North Korea and Iran.

This test can be considered neither a success nor failure of the system because the interceptor missile was not launched.

ANN reported last week the successful destruction of a target missile by Boeing's long-range missile-defense shield -- the first success in 18 months.

FMI: www.mda.mil