Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) program is gearing up for an intercept test against a separating missile target next month at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. Since 2005, eight of 14 total planned THAAD flight-tests have been conducted, according to Col. Bill Lamb, U.S. Army THAAD project manager. The four prior targets used in the current flight-test program were all unitary targets, although an earlier incarnation of the program in the late ’90s included a successful test against a separating target, Lamb said.
THAAD BATTERY: The U.S. Army activated the first battery of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during a May 28 ceremony at Ft. Bliss, Texas. The battery will receive three THAAD launchers, a THAAD Fire Control and a THAAD radar as part of the initial fielding. Full-system fielding is scheduled to begin in 2009, according to THAAD prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
DOD has asked Congress for permission to shift $9.7 billion in funding to cover shortfalls in the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) accounts in the absence of new supplemental funds.
