The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has successfully completed a flight test of a short-range air-launched target (SRALT) at the US Naval Air Warfare Center in California, US.
The flight test, designated FTX-17, successfully demonstrated an upgraded air launch and umbilical pull separation system, which had been redesigned to correct problems identified during previous tests.
The SRALT missile was deployed from a US Air Force C-17 transport aircraft over the Pacific Ocean and the target missile’s flight was successfully tracked by several missile defence sensors.
The flight test also demonstrated the capabilities of several emerging missile defence technologies that include two space-tracking surveillance system (STSS) demonstration satellites, C2BMC, ESL, NFIRE and the ABIR programme.
The flight information gathered from the radars indicated that data collection objectives were met.
