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.