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| US Downs Dummy Ballistic Missile in Successful Test |
| 2005-02-25 |
| A missile fired from a U.S. Navy ship off Kauai, Hawaii, intercepted and destroyed a mock warhead on Thursday, the fifth success in six such test of the fledgling U.S. anti-missile shield's sea-based leg, the Pentagon announced. "We had a successful hit-to-kill intercept," said Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. The target was tracked from the cruiser Lake Erie using the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Weapon System developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. It was launched from the U.S. Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauai. The ship fired a Standard Missile (SM)-3 at the target outside the earth's atmosphere during the descent phase of flight, Lockheed said. Raytheon Co. is developing the SM-3. The Defense Department plans to field up to 30 SM-3 missiles on Aegis-equipped ships by 2007 to destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in mid-flight. Other systems are being developed to defend at different stages. For the ground-based mid-course leg of ballistic missile defense, managed for the Pentagon by Boeing Co., five of eight shoot down tests have been completed successfully. Interceptor missiles failed to launch from their silos in the last two ground-based tests because of hardware and software glitches. The Pentagon plans to spend roughly $10 billion a year over the next five years on all aspects of missile defense. The initial "layered" shield is designed to thwart missiles that could be fired from North Korea, possibly tipped with nuclear, chemical or germ warheads. Last fall, the Japan-based Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Curtis Wilbur became the first component of the anti-missile shield to be put on patrol in the Sea of Japan to guard against North Korean attack. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier, calls Aegis the world's premier naval defense system, capable of defending against air, surface and underwater threats. Currently deployed on 68 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, the Aegis system is also being supplied to Spain, Japan, South Korea, Norway and Australia. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #8 I'm seriously thinking the US should start build another, late-phase system that uses nuclear warheads. That way any terminal interceptions will setting nukes off right over Canada. What a bunch of jackasses. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2005-02-25 11:39:30 PM |
| #7 I just read NORAD comes up for renewal next year. It's going to be interesting. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-02-25 11:31:52 PM |
| #6 Canada PM just said that the US would have to consult them prior to one of our missiles entering their airspace. His opposition derisively pointed out that when there were only seconds to respond, trying to get launch permission was a joke. Canada, when did they hit their head? |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2005-02-25 4:26:17 PM |
| #5 I wonder why instead of using bullet they do not use the shotgun effect They are not using a bullet, at least not for this test. The weapon in question, the Standard Missile, has it's own little radar for terminal guidance and can receive mid-course corrections from the Aegis system. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-02-25 1:14:08 PM |
| #4 Can someone explain why we are supplying Aegis to Spain and South Korea? These folks are clearly no longer allies. Time to cut them off from the jewels if they don't want to play on the team. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-02-25 10:53:18 AM |
| #3 I wonder why instead of using bullet they do not use the shotgun effect(aka:EB-Megafortress air mines).I would think the chances of a hit on a missle would be greatly enhanced by useing a cloud of titanium or steel BB's instead of a bullet.At the combined intercept speed it would not take much to kill a missle. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-02-25 10:47:28 AM |
| #2 It was mentioned on NPR Morning Edition this morning, though, so the blackout is by no means total. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2005-02-25 9:57:48 AM |
| #1 Think this will get a lot of coverage in the MSM? Nah, me neither. |
| Posted by: Thavins Thavirt9269 2005-02-25 9:42:45 AM |