U.S. Hits Target with Sea-Based Missile Shield
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U.S. Hits Target with Sea-Based Missile Shield
Reference Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A missile from a U.S. Navy Aegis cruiser knocked out a dummy warhead over the Pacific on Thursday, the fourth intercept in five such tests of a sea-based anti-missile shield, the Pentagon said.
The Standard Missile-3 fired from the Lake Erie off Kauai in the Hawaiian islands "successfully engaged the target" about four minutes after the target was launched, said Chris Taylor, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.
The last such test, on June 18, failed when the interceptor missile missed its target. The sea-based defense is to be integrated into a multilayered missile shield. President Bush has ordered an initial operating capability be fielded by Sept. 30, 2004, notably to defend against a perceived threat from North Korea.
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Lockheed said the intercept took place outside the Earth's atmosphere during the target missile's descent. The Pentagon is seeking to build defenses that would also go after warheads in their boost and mid-course flight paths.
The Aegis weapons system is deployed on 67 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, and at least 22 more ships are planned, Lockheed said in a statement.
Aegis is the primary weapon system on the Japanese Kongo-class destroyers, which could also join in a missile shield. It is part of two European ship construction programs -- the Spanish F-100 and the Norwegian New Frigate -- and South Korea has selected Aegis for its newest class of destroyers.
The test on Thursday was designed to evaluate long-range surveillance and track functions of the Aegis system, the Missile Defense Agency said.
The Pentagon plans to spend $50 billion over the next five years to develop the planned shield, including components based on land, at sea, in the air in laser-firing Boeing Co. 747 aircraft, and in space.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A missile from a U.S. Navy Aegis cruiser knocked out a dummy warhead over the Pacific on Thursday, the fourth intercept in five such tests of a sea-based anti-missile shield, the Pentagon said.
The Standard Missile-3 fired from the Lake Erie off Kauai in the Hawaiian islands "successfully engaged the target" about four minutes after the target was launched, said Chris Taylor, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.
The last such test, on June 18, failed when the interceptor missile missed its target. The sea-based defense is to be integrated into a multilayered missile shield. President Bush has ordered an initial operating capability be fielded by Sept. 30, 2004, notably to defend against a perceived threat from North Korea.
..............................
Lockheed said the intercept took place outside the Earth's atmosphere during the target missile's descent. The Pentagon is seeking to build defenses that would also go after warheads in their boost and mid-course flight paths.
The Aegis weapons system is deployed on 67 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, and at least 22 more ships are planned, Lockheed said in a statement.
Aegis is the primary weapon system on the Japanese Kongo-class destroyers, which could also join in a missile shield. It is part of two European ship construction programs -- the Spanish F-100 and the Norwegian New Frigate -- and South Korea has selected Aegis for its newest class of destroyers.
The test on Thursday was designed to evaluate long-range surveillance and track functions of the Aegis system, the Missile Defense Agency said.
The Pentagon plans to spend $50 billion over the next five years to develop the planned shield, including components based on land, at sea, in the air in laser-firing Boeing Co. 747 aircraft, and in space.
