A missile interceptor fired yesterday from a U.S. Aegis destroyer failed to hit its target during a sea-based missile defense test, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (see GSN, June 17).

During yesterday’s test, an Aries target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, and the USS Lake Erie fired a Standard Missile 3 interceptor two minutes later, according to the Associated Press.  While the interceptor’s guidance system was activated, the interceptor failed to hit the target, said Missile Defense Agency spokesman Chris Taylor.

Yesterday’s test was the first failure of a sea-based test, AP reported (B.J. Reyes, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 19).

Taylor denied, however, that test was a failure, saying that a successful intercept was not the main objective.

“I wouldn’t call it a failed test, because the intercept was not the primary objective,” Taylor said.  “It’s still considered a success in that we gained great engineering data.  We just don’t know why it didn’t hit,” he said (CNN.com, June 19).

U.S. and defense industry officials plan to conduct an in-depth analysis of the test over the next month and will use the results to improve the missile defense system, Taylor said.

“The next scheduled test will be in the fall and we’ll see what lessons we’ve learned,” Taylor said.  “You test a little, you learn a lot and you continue to go forward.  This is rocket science,” he said (Associated Press/FOXNews.com, June 18).

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