Seventh time lucky

At long last, the US military’s flagship antimissile project, the Theater
High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, has scored a hit. In six previous
tests, THAAD missiles failed to intercept their target—a slow-moving
missile designed to mimic an incoming Scud
(This Week, 10 April, p 14). But last
week, the system worked. “It was quite an impressive impact,” says Lieutenant
Colonel Rick Leher, a spokesman for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization,
which manages the THAAD programme. “We’re looking to do another test in early
July.”