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The matrix below is a summary of the major flight tests of the
THAAD upper tier terminal-phase missile defense system.
| Flight
Test No. |
Date |
Intercept? |
Notes |
| FT-1 |
April
21, 1995 |
n/a |
Propulsion test, no target.
The first of 13 planned flight tests in
the demonstration/validation phase of development; this and FT-2 were
scheduled to be the only non-intercepts. |
| FT-2 |
July 31, 1995
|
n/a |
Kill vehicle control test, no
target. It was aborted because
the missile was going too fast at burnout.
To adjust to its high speed, the missile arced up, bringing it to a
point where debris from its planned destruction
at the end of the test would have landed outside the test range.
This test was supposed to be a dry-run for FT-3, which was supposed
to be an intercept attempt. At
this point in time, it was expected that development, testing and
production of THAAD would cost about $10 billion and that it would be
produced at the end of 1996. |
| FT-3 |
Oct. 13,
1995 |
n/a |
Target fly-by.
A Storm target was used to gather seeker data.
EMD was expected to last four years and
cost about $1.2 billion to $2 billion; it was thought then that only seven
more tests were needed before an EMD decision could be made. |
| FT-4 |
Dec. 13,
1995 |
No |
Software error in avionics led to
premature kill vehicle fuel consumption.
A Storm target was used. |
| FT-5 |
March
22, 1996 |
No |
Kill vehicle connector to booster
failed at separation. It was
the first test involving all components,
including the palletized load system. |
| FT-6 |
July 15,
1996 |
No |
Seeker electronics failure or
dewar contamination led to saturation of one half of focal plane array.
A Hera target was used. At
that point, each THAAD test cost $2 million. |
| FT-7 |
March 6,
1997 |
No |
Kill vehicle battery interface
connection was contaminated, preventing operation of DACS thrusters.
This was the first test that the THAAD radar took part in.
At that point, the User Operational
Evaluation Systems (UOES) of THAAD was scheduled to be available by
FY 99, while deployment of THAAD was to begin in 2004. |
| FT-8 |
May 12, 1998 |
No |
Electrical short circuit due to
foreign object debris in thrust vector control caused booster failure.
Prior to the test, Pentagon officials tried to lower expectations
by saying they would consider the test
successful if the missile reached the endgame.
Angry with the repeated failures, the Senate voted to cut the
FY 99 funding authorization by $253.9 million, reallocating the resources
to black projects. This
eliminated the rest of the money authorized in FY 99 to begin an EMD
contract with Lockheed Martin. SASC
had already cut $70 million from the THAAD EMD authorization for that year.
The House voted to make Lockheed Martin liable for future tests. |
| FT-9 |
March 29, 1999 |
No |
Attitude control system nozzle was
torn from its bracket. There
were four failures: a maneuvering thruster
malfunctioned, the thruster's combustion chamber overheated, the telemetry
failed and the missile missed the target.
The test was also to demonstrate the infrared indium antimonide (InSb)
seeker, closed-loop system, and (for the first time) the user operational
evaluation system radar performance against the unitary target.
Lockheed Martin was penalized $15 million for the miss. |
| FT-10 |
June 10, 1999 |
Yes |
Intercept of Hera class unitary
target within the aimpoint region (an area on the mock warhead).
At this point, the goal was to field units by 2007.
The interception occurred at an
altitude of just under 60 miles with both target and interceptor traveling
at just under 1 mile/sec. |
| FT-11 |
Aug. 2, 1999 |
Yes |
Exoatmospheric intercept of Hera
class separating target within the aimpoint region (again, an area on the
mock warhead). After, the
Pentagon decided to skip attempting a third interception before going into
EMD (the contract was awarded
June 30, 2000
, for $4 billion). If
Lockheed Martin had not achieved an interception, it would have been fined
$20 million. |
| FT-12? |
Late FY 04 |
|
THAAD is scheduled to next undergo
a flight test late in FY 04, with intercepts to be attempted in FY 05.
There are 16 tests planned. MDA
will start with exo-atmospheric intercepts and then try endo-atmospheric
intercepts. |
Sources:
DOT&E
FY 00 report for FT-1 - FT-11
FT-1: “THAAD
in successful maiden test flight,” Defense
Daily,
April 24, 1995
FT-2:
“High missile velocity forced abort of THAAD
test,” Aerospace Daily,
Aug. 2, 1995
; “Missile test failure won’t slow production,” Albuquerque
Journal,
Aug. 23, 1995
FT-3:
“THAAD likely to go for intercept in
next test,” Aerospace Daily,
Oct.
18, 1995
FT-4:
“THAAD misses target in first
intercept attempt,” Aerospace Daily,
Dec.
14, 1995
FT-5:
“THAAD interceptor again misses target,” Aerospace Daily,
March 25, 1996
FT-6: “THAAD fails third consecutive
intercept test,” Defense Daily,
July 16, 1996
FT-7:
“No intercept in THAAD's fourth attempt,” BMD Monitor,
March 7, 1997
FT-8:
“Senate cuts funds for THAAD, AMRAAM,” Armed Forces Newswire Service, May 15, 1998; “THAAD
fails in fifth intercept try,” Aerospace Daily, May 13, 1998
FT-9:
“Army homes on cause of THAAD miss; plans cost 'incentives',” Aerospace Daily,
April 29, 1999
; “Uneasiness grows in hometown of $ 3.8 billion missile that keeps
missing,” AP,
April 26, 1999
FT-10: “THAAD hits, but Lockheed
Martin 'still not out of the woods',” Defense Week, June 14, 1999; “Lockheed Martin and the
U.S. Army,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, June 14, 1999
FT-11: “THAAD
at crossroads after intercept,” Aviation
Week and Space Technology,
August 9, 1999
; “Pentagon defends THAAD move,” Albuquerque Journal,
Aug. 25, 1999
FT-12: “House Armed Services
Committee report on the FY 03 Defense Authorization Act,” http://www.defenselink.mil/dodgc/lrs/docs/HR4546-HASCrpt.pdf,
May 3, 2002; “Patriot Games; Overcoming recent test
failures will be crucial to US ballistic missile defence plans,” Flight International, June 11, 2002
For more information contact Philip E. Coyle, Martha.krebs@att.net
or Victoria Samson, vsamson@cdi.org.
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