US Military Announces THAAD Test Against North Korean Musudan Target In 2017

GIKorea | August 13, 2016 | US Military | 2 Comments

Next year the US military will be testing the THAAD missile system against a North Korean Musudan target:

In this photo taken on Aug. 11, 2016, U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Vic Adm. James D. Syring answers questions from South Korean reporters on the planned deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea by 2017 to counter growing threats from North Korea during a group interview held at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)

The United States will carry out an interception test against Musudan-type intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) next year with its advanced missile defense system, following successful trials on short and mid-range missiles, Washington’s missile defense chief said Thursday.

“As those (short-range and mid-range) tests have been done over a period of years and as that success has been achieved (with missile defense shield), we move to longer-range tests,” U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director Vice Admiral James D. Syring said in a group interview with local reporters at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul.

The agency chief said next year, the U.S. will test the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against IRBMs to better counter the growing threats from North Korea in the Indo-Asia Pacific region. North Korea’s Musudan missiles are IRBM with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and a capability of striking the U.S. territory of Guam and Japan. [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but for those wondering how effective the THAAD interceptor is, it has been successful in 13 of 13 of its past tests to include shooting down six missiles that replicated current North Korean missiles.