Posted on: Friday, November 22, 2002

Kaua'i missile target test succeeds

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

BARKING SANDS, Kaua'i — Navy officials last night celebrated the third successful test of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system in which the target rocket was actually intercepted by a ship-launched missile.

The key difference between this test and previous shots was that the goal was to hit the target rocket while it was still ascending, a more complex task than hitting it later in flight.

Previous tests were held in January and June of this year. Because of the success of those tests, the complexity of the latest test was increased, the Navy said.

The target rocket was fired from Kaua'i's west coast near Barking Sands at 2:30 p.m. yesterday. Shortly afterward, equipment aboard the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie began tracking it, and two minutes after the launch, fired its own weapon, a special version of the Standard Missile 3.

The guided missile's warhead tracked the target rocket and, according to a Navy release, "diverted into the target, demonstrating the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system's capability to engage the ballistic missile target in the ascent phase."

The intercept occurred over the ocean four minutes after the target was launched from Kaua'i.

The latest test is the first of a six-flight series aimed at providing ships at sea with an emergency defense against short- to medium-range ballistic missiles, the Navy said.

The Navy and the Missile Defense Agency manage the research effort. Contractors include Raytheon Missile Systems, and Lockheed Martin Naval Electronic and Surveillance Systems.