A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor missile is fired last night from the Pacific Missle Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kaua'i Missle Defense Agency photo

It was the second such test at the Kaua'i missile range.

A news release issued by Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor to the Missile Defense Agency for the THAAD program, stated: "This hit-to-kill intercept demonstrated THAAD's precision against in-bound threats and its ability to provide increased protection for troops and assets."

The target rocket, similar to the SCUD missiles used in the first Gulf War, was fired from a mobile launch platform off the coast of Kaua'i, at 8:42 p.m. The THADD interceptor took off three minutes later, and hit the target two minutes after that.

The collision took place inside the earth's atmosphere. THAAD is designed to function both in the endo-atmospheric (inside the atmosphere) and exo-atmospheric (outside the atmosphere) areas, so it can be used against ballistic missiles with different ranges.