1. US BMD Test
Prior to Integrated Test Flight-6, the successfully completed missile defense test this past weekend, a senior official from the US Defense Department conducted a briefing on the test. The links below provide the full text of that briefing as well as the accompanying presentation.
"United States Department of Defense Background Interview on Missile Defense"
"BRIEFING SLIDES: DoD News Briefing, Friday, 13 Jul 2001 - 1:30 pm"
During the test last weekend of the missile defense program's interceptor, an early-warning satellite detected the launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Los Angeles and alerted a missile defense command center where battle managers then cued the prototype radar on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. About 20 minutes later, the kill vehicle, using its own sensors and aided by the radar, hit a Minuteman II intercontinental missile carrying a mock warhead and a decoy balloon. The US Defense Department acknowledged Tuesday that a prototype radar used in this past weekend's missile defense system test falsely reported that the interceptor had missed the dummy warhead, though several other sensors set up to monitor the test showed a hit. Lieutenant Colonel Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, said, "The software they installed just couldn't keep up with the information that was coming out. It wasn't a major problem. We just need to make some modifications." John Pike, a defense policy analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, disagreed, stating, "If you are not able to make a kill assessment, you continue to have interceptors fired at targets that you've already hit." Defense officials contend the radar was too sensitive and tried to track all the debris, overwhelming the computer processing the data.
"Crucial Radar Failed Missile Defense Test"
"Missile Interception Test Was Hit-and-Miss, Pentagon Reports"
James Dao writes in the New York Times that while US Defense Department officials were very positive about the interceptor test of the missile defense system, they also were careful to point out that effective missile defense required significantly more research and development. Critics said the US should use more sophisticated decoys in the future. Enthusiastic with the test's success, US Senator Trent Lott said, "We should put this right at the top of the agenda, not allow it to be pushed aside by Democrats." Democrats are urging the administration to go slow, both in deploying the new technology and in negotiating with Russia to amend or replace the ABM Treaty in order to avoid an unreliable system or an arms race with Russia or the PRC.
"Amid Applause, Caution Urged on Missile Defense"
"Pentagon Officials Report Hit in Missile Defense Test"
Martin Kettle and Richard Norton-Taylor report in the UK's The Guardian that the launch of the Minuteman II missile used in the test was held up by several minutes when Greenpeace protesters managed to get onto the Vandenberg base. The British Foreign Office, which remains opposed to the Bush administration's plans, played down the significance of the test. A Foreign Office official said, "We are a long way from Menwith Hill and Fylingdales," referring to the intelligence and early warning stations in Yorkshire which the US is seeking to upgrade to play key roles in the missile defense system.
"US relief at missile test success"