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Silo Malfunction Doomed U.S. Missile Defense Test
Yesterday’s failed test of the U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense system occurred when the interceptor missile received an erroneous abort message just seconds before its launch, the New York Times reported (see GSN, Feb. 14). Scientists believe electronic monitoring equipment or some other device in the silo may have sent the command, said Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner. A Dec. 15 flight test also failed when the interceptor did not launch, but for different reasons, according to the Times. There is no schedule yet for another test, Lehner said. Congress is set to begin considering a Defense Department budget of $419.3 billion for fiscal 2006, and some have criticized the Bush administration for even considering deploying an untested missile defense system. “It’s as if Henry Ford started up his automobile production line and began selling cars without ever taking one for a test drive,” said David Wright, co-director for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ global security program (David Stout, New York Times, Feb. 15). Wright said in a statement that the failed test indicated “the program is being pushed ahead for political reasons regardless of its capability.” Defense officials said the last two tests were more technologically challenging than prior efforts. “This was a much more robust and difficult test,” said Chris Taylor, another Missile Defense Agency spokesman (Ann Scott Thomas, Washington Post, Feb. 15).
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