US Downs Dummy Ballistic Missile in Successful Test

Reuters ^ | 24FEB05 | Jim Wolf

[familyop]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A missile fired from a U.S. Navy ship off Kauai, Hawaii, intercepted and destroyed a mock warhead on Thursday, the fifth success in six such test of the fledgling U.S. anti-missile shield's sea-based leg, the Pentagon announced.

"We had a successful hit-to-kill intercept," said Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

The target was tracked from the cruiser Lake Erie using the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Weapon System developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. It was launched from the U.S. Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauai.

The ship fired a Standard Missile (SM)-3 at the target outside the earth's atmosphere during the descent phase of flight, Lockheed said. Raytheon Co. is developing the SM-3.

The Defense Department plans to field up to 30 SM-3 missiles on Aegis-equipped ships by 2007 to destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in mid-flight. Other systems are being developed to defend at different stages.

For the ground-based mid-course leg of ballistic missile defense, managed for the Pentagon by Boeing Co., five of eight shoot down tests have been completed successfully.

Interceptor missiles failed to launch from their silos in the last two ground-based tests because of hardware and software glitches.

The Pentagon plans to spend roughly $10 billion a year over the next five years on all aspects of missile defense. The initial "layered" shield is designed to thwart missiles that could be fired from North Korea, possibly tipped with nuclear, chemical or germ warheads.

Last fall, the Japan-based Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Curtis Wilbur became the first component of the anti-missile shield to be put on patrol in the Sea of Japan to guard against North Korean attack.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier, calls Aegis the world's premier naval defense system, capable of defending against air, surface and underwater threats.

Currently deployed on 68 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, the Aegis system is also being supplied to Spain, Japan, South Korea, Norway and Australia.

[Cold Heat]

Naw, they will blame repubs for putting them in danger and making the enemy mad in the first place. They can never see good in anything republicans accomplish. Never.

They still think that Gorby won the cold war by giving up.

[Jeff Head]

I do not believe the vast majority of voters will buy it at all. She will get no red states...and will do as badly, if not worse, in the blue states as Kerry IMHO.

...at least I pray that is the case. I believe Rice would eat her alive on the campaign trail.

[Jeff Head]

See my post 20. We're on the same page.

[neverdem]

bump & a ping

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[BJungNan]

[Texas_Jarhead]

"The ship fired a Standard Missile (SM)-3 at the target outside the earth's atmosphere..."

[ProudVet77]

Boy, it must be a trip to be on the bridge for that shot, eh???

Just another day at the office for the boys. I remember sleeping through an ASROC launch, and my rack was directly under the launcher. :)
The Canadians may not care, but the Japanese have become our bosom buddies now that we have an SM-3 equipped ship in the sea of Japan full time.

[MEG33]

"A missile fired from a U.S. Navy ship off Kauai, Hawaii, intercepted and destroyed a mock warhead on Thursday, the fifth success in six such test of the fledgling U.S. anti-missile shield's sea-based leg, the Pentagon announced."

5 out of 6..

I do not think we announced it for Canada's benefit..

We would do nothing to upset the smug moral superiority of Canadians who think we are knuckledragging war mongers..
They are safe. We'll protect them...

[ArmyBratproud]

5 out of 6 have worked.

Considering no defense system is perfect....that is a pretty good tally so far.

Way better than having nothing at all.

[rlmorel]

That's nothing...when I was on the JFK, my rack was right underneath the arrestor cable! First time I was sleeping and a plane trapped, I sat bolt upright and mashed my head on a bracket! After a while...you sleep right through anything!

[neverdem]

Hillary will kill the project and use the savings to fund additional social programs.

I wouldn't bet money on that. I wouldn't be surprised at anything she says or does as she slithers to the right of the pubbies.

Sen. Clinton Says Iraq Insurgents Failing

[snowsislander]

The Canadians may not care, but the Japanese have become our bosom buddies now that we have an SM-3 equipped ship in the sea of Japan full time.

Japan has thoroughly reviewed the technology, and have officially announced their opinion of its high viability.

[ProudVet77]

I sat bolt upright and mashed my head on a bracket!

I had an AC duct right above my rack and had the same problem on several ocassions. I have to say, you guys had it worse. We had a bad ride (see my profile) but you guys were out all the time and were 24x7. The ops sleeping qtrs on our ship were always darkened and we acually got some good sack time considering we were port/stbd.

[PatriotGirl827]

I am so glad we are working on this. Didn't the idiot J. F'n Kerry say in one of the debates that he would "shut that program down" if he was elected?

[al baby]

where did the target come from?

[JamminJAY]

Nope

[Texas_Jarhead]

"where did the target come from?"

"The target was tracked from the cruiser Lake Erie using the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Weapon System developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. It was launched from the U.S. Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauai."

[investigateworld]

Ping

[DoughtyOne]

Aw Jeff, I find that hard to believe... NOT!

Par for the course.