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United States: Patriot Interceptors Successfully Engaged Nine Iraqi Missiles Coalition-operated Patriot missile interceptor batteries successfully intercepted nine Iraqi ballistic missiles during the month-long course of the war, the Boston Globe reported today (see GSN, April 10). Of the nine missiles, U.S.-operated batteries destroyed six and Kuwaiti-manned batteries destroyed three, according to U.S. Army spokesmen. Eight of the missiles were “destroyed in the air,” while the other was “significantly damaged” and landed without causing harm, the U.S. Central Command said. Other Iraqi missiles were not engaged because they were projected to land in either empty areas or the ocean, according to Globe. In addition to intercepting nine Iraqi missiles, Patriot interceptors have also been involved in three friendly-fire incidents during the war, the Globe reported. Early reports indicate that a Patriot was responsible for destroying a Navy F/A-18 Hornet over Iraq on April 2, the Central Command said Monday. There have been differing accounts over which versions of the Patriot interceptor were used to intercept Iraqi missiles. In testimony before the U.S. Congress earlier this month, Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish said the Army fired four Patriot Advanced Capability 3 interceptors, but mostly used older PAC-2 interceptors. The new PAC-3s were not exclusively used because “we just don’t have enough of them,” Kadish said. Army officers, however, refused to confirm Kadish’s figures, according to the Globe. In an e-mail sent to the newspaper last week, Army spokesman Capt. Henry Vasquez said Kadish’s numbers were “incorrect” but refused to provide more detail other than to confirm that both PAC-2s and PAC-3s were used. One missile defense critic suggested that the differing accounts stem from Kadish’s desire to promote the Patriot’s successes while Army officials were being more cautious. “I think the Army is probably trying to avoid embarrassment from making one set of claims and having another set of facts come out,” said Theodore Postol, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a frequent critic of the U.S. missile defense plans. “Kadish doesn’t care about those sorts of things,” Postol said (Ross Kerber, Boston Globe, April 16). For further information, see:
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