Missile Defense - Interceptor Missile Test Fails

Published: Feb 15, 2005
Source: globalsecurity.org



In another delay for the new defense system, a problem with ground equipment apparently keeps it from launching.

By John Hendren

For the second time in two months, a test of the national missile defense system has failed, Pentagon officials said Monday.

Military technicians believe the failure of the $85-million test was due to a problem with ground support equipment, not with the interceptor missile itself. A preliminary assessment indicated that the fault occurred in the concrete underground silo, where a variety of common and widely used sensors perform safety and environmental monitoring.

The interceptor, located at the Ronald Reagan test site at Kwajalein Atoll in the western Pacific Ocean, was supposed to target a mock ballistic missile fired from Kodiak Island, Alaska. The target missile went off as scheduled but the interceptor failed to launch.continue..