Another U.S. Misile Defense Test Failure

Photo: A Standard Missile-3 Block 1A interceptor is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean. Reuters

Raytheon Warhead Failed to Separate in U.S. Missile-Defense Test -- Bloomberg Businessweek

The U.S. missile-defense test that failed to intercept a target this month was stymied when a Raytheon Co. (RTN:US) warhead didn’t separate from its booster rocket during the final flight stage, a Pentagon official said.

The $214 million test on July 5 replicated the altitude and speed of a North Korean missile and was the longest-range interception yet attempted, Vice Admiral James Syring, head of the Missile Defense Agency, told a congressional panel today.

The test involved the first use of an Aegis-class ballistic-missile vessel to detect and track the target fired from the Marshall Islands. It passed data to personnel from the Army’s 100th Missile Defense Brigade who fired the interceptor from a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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More News On U.S. Missile Defense

Test Failure Stirs Missile Defense Doubts -- Defense Tech
Pentagon wants more regular testing after failed missile test -- Reuters
Failed missile defense test blamed on kill vehicle not separating -- Examiner
Military Explains Missile Defense Failure -- APRN
Additional Missile Defense Tests Necessary, Official Says -- US Department of Defense
Pentagon May Hasten Missile Intercept Retest After Latest Failure -- National Journal
US Missile Defense Chief Backs East Coast Radars, More Interceptor Sites -- Defense News
Let’s end bogus missile defense testing -- Yousaf Butt, Reuters