Article Posted on : - Feb 01, 2010

The interceptor missile being launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on Sunday. US MDA Photo

CALIFORNIA (BNS): The US Air Force�s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System, which was tested on Sunday, failed to hit its target due to a radar problem, the US Missile Defence Agency has said.

While the target missile was launched from the US Army�s Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands at 3.40 pm, the ground-based long-range interceptor missile was fired six minutes later from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

�Both the target missile and Ground-Based Interceptor performed nominally after launch. However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected,� the MDA said.

Officials will investigate the reasons for the failure, the agency said.