WASHINGTON The U.S. military on Tuesday again postponed a key test of its troubled "THAAD" anti- missile defense rocket high over the New Mexico Desert, this time due to a commercial power failure, the defense department said. The test, also postponed two weeks ago when a target missile went out of control, is now expected to be conducted on Thursday, Cheryl Irwin, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told Reuters. The anti-missile missile, being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. as part of a Theatre High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to track and hit enemy ballistic missile warheads in flight, had suffered six successive test failures prior to the two delays.

The Clinton administration faces pressure from Congress to put in place both a system like THAAD against medium-range missiles as well as an even more ambitious national missile defense system. THAAD is designed to protect troops and bases from medium-range ballistic missile attack. Despite the failures to date, Pentagon officials insist that much is learned from each test whether or not the intercept takes place.

(Reuter)