Long range missile interceptor test fails

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 December 2010 22:26 Thursday, 16 December 2010 10:19

America's missile defense shield has suffered another set back with the failure of an intermediate and long range missile interceptor test. It is the second failure this year for the long range tests. An interceptor missile fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California failed to hit a missile fired 4,000 miles away from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands

The interceptor missile released a Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, or EKV. That was to hit the target missile and destroy it but it missed, said Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

"Program officials will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure to intercept the target," he said. "The next flight test will be determined after identification of the cause of the failure."

Read the full specs of the target LV-2 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (pdf)

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Interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (click for larger image)

The last test failed due to the sea based X-Band Radar. That sits on top of a disused oil platform floating out at sea and provides advance warning and information on the incoming target. It worked as expected throughout this test. Costing $800 million, the radar can sail to any region the military needs to track missiles. It is so precise it can track a baseball sized object from thousands of miles away.

Back in November, an airborne laser failed to knock out an incoming missile - also a second failure in a row.