..SM-3
Posted on 06/22/2006 1:55:47 AM PDT by Trupolitik
A US warship prepared to shoot down a mock warhead of a medium-range missile over the Pacific Wednesday in the latest of a series of tests of a sea-based missile defense system, a spokesman said. It comes amid tensions over North Korean preparations to launch a long-range missile, but a spokesman for the US Missile Defense Agency said the missile defense test had been planned for months. "It has nothing to do with North Korea or anything else," said Rick Lehner, the agency's spokesman.
It was the second test intercept of a separating warhead, but the first with an operationally configured interceptor missile that is slated for deployment in the US Navy later this year.
The test involves a medium-range target missile that will be launched from a site in Kauai, Hawaii.
An Aegis-guided missile cruiser off Kauai will fire a ship-based SM-3 Block IA missile in an attempt to intercept the mock warhead after it separates from the main body of the target missile.
The cruiser "will detect and track the target with its SPY-1B radar; develop a fire control solution; and its crew will fire the SM-3 Block IA missile," the Missile Defense Agency said.
The three-stage interceptor missile has a kinetic warhead that will be ejected from the third stage.
It "will acquire, track, and divert toward the target, and complete the intercept of the target's reentry vehicle," the agency said.
PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH
Meaning, basically, "OF COURSE it has to do with North Korea."
LOL!! Thats what I was thinking! haha!
wouldn't it be just 'funny' if the test screwed up, got confused, and couldn't tell the difference between the test dummy and the NK test missile. oh well, guess the engineers would have to go back to the drawing boards...
or the test is a cover to actually shoot the real missile down, or if it misses we can say "oh, we werent aiming at that missile. We were conducting a test"
Whatever the scenario, this is a GREAT idea. I am always impressed with our military strategists and tacticians.
They've been doing these tests for a while now. This is nothing new, and there isn't anything remarkable or significant about the timing.
The tests should actually be escalating as they start to hit their stride in perfecting the weapons systems. It is already pretty darned good though.
That is true, they have been doing alot of testing. But it is SOP for the military brass to mix scheduled tests with live manuevers as cover.
That's the whole point. Maybe its a scheduled test. Maybe its not.
Eitherway, its a good thing.
Excellent points, and it is a good thing either way.
In all probability, the test is going according to an independent schedule - but it is taking advantage of the NK situation to perhaps expand the criteria and the envelope of the weapons system test.
As long as China doesn't get involved, things will probably work out ok.
..SM-3
I still think it would be cheaper to fly in a Predator at night and shoot up Lil Kim's phallic symbol with a 50 cal.
Hit a few fuel trucks too and have a nice 4th of July celebration.
This reminds me of "accidentally" hitting the french embassy in libya when france wouldn't permit fly-overs of F-111's back in the 80's. Sooner or later we're going to have to show that this stuff works. The first time is the hardest time it seems.
That's funny. I can imagine the conversation between our ambassador to the French: "The pilots were so fatigued from having to fly all the way around France that they couldn't shoot straight"!
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