US military blows North 

Korea-style missile 

out of the sky 

REUTERS

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor

 is launched in Alaska last night

Test aimed at showing Kim Jong-un 

who is boss

The test of the THAAD missile defence system
comes amid heightened concerns about the
nuclear threat from Pyongyang

THE US has shot down a simulated incoming intermediate-range
 ballistic missile similar to the one launched by North Korea last week.

The test of the state-of-the-art THAAD missile defence system,
over the Pacific Ocean, comes amid heightened concerns
about the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

REUTERS

This image shows the THAAD system intercepts a 

intermediate-range ballistic missile during the test flight

REUTERS

A (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful

 intercept test (stock)

REUTERS

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)

 interceptor (L bottom) is seen in Seongju, South Korea

Trigger-happy tyrant Kim Jong-un reportedly laughed as 
he fired his military’s first ICBMdeclaring it a special
“gift for American b******s on July 4”.

Bizarrely describing the intercontinental missile as a
“handsome good-looking boy” the despot “added that we
 “should send them gifts once in a while to help break their boredom”.

Now America’s military has carried out its own show of
 strength to prove it is ready for anything fired its way.

The test was the first-ever of the Terminal High Altitude
 Area Defense (THAAD) system against an incoming IRBM
– which is faster and more difficult target to hit than
shorter-range missiles.

The US Missile Defense Agency said the IRBM was
designed to behave similarly to the kinds of missiles that
 could threaten the United States.

“The successful demonstration of THAAD against an
IRBM-range missile threat bolsters the country’s defensive
capability against developing missile threats in North Korea
and other countries,” the Missile Defense Agency said in a statement.

North Korea hailed the controversial ICBM launch a great success

The US had not previously tested THAAD against an IRBM,
 despite having deployed the system to the island of Guam,
a US territory in the Pacific, in 2013 amid concerns about
North Korea’s missile program.

That means that, until the latest test, the THAAD system had an
unproven capability against IRBMs – missiles that have a range
of between 1,800 and 3,100 miles (3,000 to 5,500 km).

Guam is approximately 2,100 miles (3,400 km) from North Korea.

In order to hit the mainland United States, North Korea would
need to fire an ICBM, which is defined as a missile with a range
greater than 3,400 miles (5,500 km).

In the latest test, a THAAD in Kodiak, Alaska, intercepted a ballistic
 missile target that was air-launched from a C-17 aircraft
flying north of Hawaii

However, John Schilling, a contributor to 38 North, a North
 Korea monitoring project, downplayed the idea that THAAD
might be able to take out a longer range ICBM.

“To engage an ICBM with THAAD would be like asking a high
school baseball player to hit a fastball from a major-league pitcher –
literally out of his league,” Schilling said.

The Missile Defense Agency told Congress in June that it
 planned to deliver 52 more THAAD interceptors to the US
Army between October 2017 and September 2018.