News

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. attempt
to shoot down
a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran failed after
a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co (RTN.N),
the
Defense Department said.

The abortive test over the Pacific Ocean coincided with a
Pentagon report that Iran had expanded its ballistic missile
capabilities and posed a "significant" threat to U.S. and
allied forces in the Middle East region.

The Missile Defense Agency said that in Sunday's test both
the target missile, fired from Kwajalein in the Marshall
Islands, and the interceptor, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California, had performed normally.

"However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as
expected," the agency said on its web site. Officials will
investigate the cause of the failure to intercept, it said.