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The first of two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors is launched during a successful intercept test. The test, conducted by Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Operational Test Agency, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and U.S. Pacific Command, in conjunction with U.S. Army Soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, U.S. Navy sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73), and U.S. Air Force airmen from the 613th Air and Operations Center resulted in the intercept of one medium-range ballistic missile target by THAAD, and one medium-range ballistic missile target by Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). The test, designated Flight Test Operational-01 (FTO-01), stressed the ability of the Aegis BMD and THAAD weapon systems to function in a layered defense architecture and defeat a raid of two near-simultaneous ballistic missile targets
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WATERS TO THE EAST OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA (Oct. 9, 2013) An aircraft handler directs an E/A-18G Growler from the Shadowhawks of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141 aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Liam Kennedy)
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Paratroopers assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, prepare to enter a building as they conduct close quarters combat training during an air assault mission, Sept. 26. Photo by Sgt. Juan F. Jimenez
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U.S. Soldiers with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, take to the road during a joint platoon exercise at the Yakima Training Center, Wash., Sept. 16, 2013. Rising Thunder is a U.S. Army-hosted exercise designed to build interoperability between I Corps, the 7th Infantry Division and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt Austan Owen)
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Three U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets enroute to refuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker in Southwest Asia, Oct. 1, 2013. They provide air and ground support missions throught the area of operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Joselito Aribuabo)
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A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter based in Camp Zama, Japan, lines up for a historic landing Sept. 1, 2013 on the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer Murasame. This marked the first time a U.S. Army helicopter landed on a JMSDF ship. The bilateral cooperative effort was in support of the natural disaster training exercise held by Shizuoka Prefecture.
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SOUTH CHINA SEA (Sept. 24, 2013) The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) fires its 57-mm gun during a surface gunnery exercise. Freedom is underway conducting routine operations in the South China Sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Karolina A. Oseguera)
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U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alva Gwinn, left, and Pvt. Clayton Baldwin with the 87th Sapper Company observe camel herders cross Shekhabad Bridge during a route clearance mission in Wardak province, Afghanistan, Aug. 12, 2013. The U.S. and their Afghan partners routinely conduct route clearance missions in order to maintain freedom of movement for military and commercial traffic. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Yau-liong Tsai)
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An RQ-4 Global Hawk taxies on the flightline as a U-2 makes its final approach Sept. 17, 2013, at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. The RQ-4 and U-2 are the Air Force¡¯s primary high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Bobby Cummings)
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