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U.S. Plans I: Interceptor Test Scores Fifth Successful Hit The U.S. Defense Department yesterday successfully tested a missile interceptor designed to be a component of a U.S. missile defense system. It was the fifth hit in seven intercept tests of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (see GSN, Oct. 10). More than 140 miles above the Earth, the missile interceptor, launched from the Kwajalein test range in the Marshall Islands, hit a modified Minuteman ICBM launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The interceptor traveled for six minutes before hitting the target, according to the Missile Defense Agency. The USS John Paul Jones Navy Aegis destroyer also participated in the test. During the test, operators successfully integrated ground-based sensors and command and control systems to track the launch of the target, and they used a prototype X-band radar to provide information to the interceptor (U.S. Defense Department release, Oct. 14). “What these tests do is they greatly improve our knowledge of missile defense technology for our development of a missile defense system against long-range ballistic missiles,” said Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo.com, Oct. 15). Meanwhile, the Union of Concerned Scientists Friday released a report containing previously withheld information on the decoys used in Pentagon missile defense tests (see GSN, May 17). Yesterday’s test was too artificial and did not reflect actual conditions, the group said. “Our research shows that the upcoming test will not assess the ability of the defense to distinguish between decoys and warheads,” David Wright, co-director and senior scientist of the organization’s Global Security Program, said in a press statement (see GSN, March 4). “Showing that the interceptor can discriminate between a warhead and a decoy is absolutely key to developing a missile defense system” (Union of Concerned Scientists release, Oct. 11). For further information, see:
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