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9 October 2006 |
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http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?... |
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WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. Army missile defense system has proven it can hit enemy ballistic missiles and is now in place in Hawaii where it could be used to respond to any threats from North Korea, a top program official said on Monday after a reported nuclear test by Pyongyang. The Missile Defense Agency, which oversees the program, also expects to sign early next year a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) for additional units of the developmental system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Col. Charles Driessnack said at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. Asked if the system could be declared operational to respond to the current crisis over the North Korean test, he said the system had proven it could intercept enemy missiles and was now positioned "where it could do an operation." THAAD is designed to destroy enemy ballistic missiles during the final phase of flight. It is part of the Bush administration's complex missile defense system and is slated to become operational only in 2009. Driessnack compared the system's state of readiness to that of another part of the missile defense system, which was activated briefly in July to guard against a Taepodong 2 missile test-fired by North Korea. Like that system, THAAD would continue testing while being on alert for use as needed, he said. Testing would continue even after expected initial deployment of the system in 2009. The Missile Defense Agency has moved THAAD equipment from the White Sands Missile range in New Mexico to the vast Pacific Missile Range Facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, with the last airplane carrying equipment arriving there on Oct. 4, Driessnack said.
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