Following three failed attempts, Lockheed Martin is under pressure to prove that its Theatre High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system will work.
The company's next chance comes in November, when a seventh THAAD system will be launched at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
It will be a tense moment for Lockheed Martin, which has until the first quarter of next year to score three hits in order to meet its next contractual milestone.
Bill Loomis, vice-president, Defensive Missile System at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, remains confident: "We have developed modifications to our flight test and missile assembly procedures and are incorporating them into the programme. The interceptor performs well within its specified performance requirements - we just haven't hit the target yet. We will!"
Lockheed Martin is now completing the $1 billion demonstration/validation phase of the programme for the US Army. It must complete this successfully, with three body-to-body contacts, before it can move on to the $1.5 billion engineering, manufacturing and development phase.
Delivery of a prototype evaluation system will begin next year to give the Army a limited theatre missile defence capability as early as 1999, but on a contingency basis only.
Ultimately, the Army is expected to purchase around 1,500 systems
Source: Flight Daily News