Misslile Defense test called 'phenomenal'

[Regis Philbin]

http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_4044160

White Sands missile test phenomenal'

By Jason Gibbs/Sun-News reporter

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE — It was a picture-perfect pre-dawn Wednesday and a picture-perfect launch at White Sands Missile Range.

Hundreds of miles above southern New Mexico, it was a picture-perfect impact between two missiles.

The morning sky above the Tularosa Basin was painted in every color of the rainbow — hues ranging from iridescent purples to emerald greens and pastel blues, pinks and electric whites against the darkness of space.

The pre-dawn art show was the result of the third of five tests planned at White Sands Missile Range to determine the effectiveness of THAAD — Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile. And military officials said the test went better than they could have hoped.

"This was phenomenal," said U.S. Army Col. Charles Driessnack, the project manager for the Missile Defense Agency's THAAD program. "It performed as expected."

The test demonstrated the THAAD's ability to "completely destroy that warhead so that no chemical or nuclear residue would contaminate areas" below the explosion, Driessnack said.

The THAAD missile system was designed by Lockheed Martin, and several company employees and system designers were on hand to witness the test.

During the test firing, the airspace above the 3,200-square-mile missile range was cleared, including orbiting satellites, said Jim Eckles, a spokesman for the missile range.