US tests missile defense off Hawaiian island

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The US military shot down a Scud-type missile off a Hawaiian island in a missile defense test, the Missile Defense Agency said. It was the second successful test this year of technology the Pentagon is developing to defend larger areas than ones that can be protected by Patriot missile defenses already deployed in South Korea, Japan and other places. Like the Patriot anti-missile defenses, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is designed to knock out ballistic missiles in their final minute of flight. Unlike the Patriot system, however, it is designed to intercept targets at higher altitudes, allowing it to defend a larger area.