An interceptor fails to launch, ending the Navy targeting of two simultaneous threats

The Navy’s ballistic missile defense test off the coast of Kauai failed yesterday after a system glitch kept the interceptor rocket from firing.

According to the Missile Defense Agency, missiles from the Pearl-Harbor based cruiser Lake Erie were supposed to shoot down two targets — one launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai and one from an aircraft.

While the target missiles were launched, a problem with the fire control system caused by an improper configuration of the system aboard the Erie kept the first interceptor missile from being launched, the missile agency said. Since the objective was to destroy both missiles nearly simultaneously, the ship intentionally did not fire the second missile, the agency said.

The drill was planned to demonstrate the Navy’s ability to knock down two incoming missiles at once from the same ship.

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(Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin)