98273. Theater Defense Missile Fails 5th Test

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
	WASHINGTON -- The Theater High Altitude Air Defense System failed 
a fifth test May 12, but DoD is determined to make the program work, 
said Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon.
	The missile, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic 
missiles, blew up five seconds into a test flight. Debris landed two 
miles down range from the launching pad at White Sands Missile Range, 
N.M. 
	Each of the five tests of the system have failed in different 
ways, Bacon said, leading DoD to conclude there is "no single systemic 
reason apparent from these tests as to why the failures took place." 
Officials will study this latest failure and try to find out why it 
happened. Bacon said once this occurs, Defense Secretary William S. 
Cohen, Acquisition Undersecretary  Jacques Gansler, and Air Force Lt. 
Gen. Lester Lyles, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense 
Organization, will discuss the program and its future.
	Bacon said every piece of intelligence indicates the United 
States needs a system to protect U.S. service members from theater 
ballistic missile attack. "[The Theater High Altitude Air Defense 
System] is a program designed to address an important and growing 
threat, and therefore we will continue on the program to make it 
work," he said during a press conference.
	A booster malfunction caused the first test failure. Officials 
attributed the second to a miscommunication between a range radar 
system and the missile. The third test failed because a system that 
was supposed to change the attitude of the missile didn't work right. 
The fourth failed because an "eye" in the missile became blurred. 
Officials do not believe the fifth failure is related to the others.
	Bacon said DoD still has faith in Lockheed Martin Co., the prime 
contractor of the system. "I think the program has strong managers, 
but one of the things that happens after every failure is that people 
sit down and look at the entire program, and we'll do that again this 
time," Bacon said. "But the fact is that we need a program that does 
what this one is designed to do. And that's a powerful reason for 
continuing."
	DoD is working on other theater missile defense systems. The Army 
also is developing the Patriot III system; the Navy effort is called 
the Theater Wide system.
	U.S. experience during Desert Storm focused attention on the need 
for theater ballistic missile defense. While U.S. forces had some 
success in knocking down Iraqi Scud missiles, more needed to be done, 
according to a DoD lessons learned report. DoD has spent $3.2 billion 
on the Theater High Altitude Air Defense System.
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98273. Theater Defense Missile Fails 5th Test
