Cruiser, amphib test Aegis today in shootdown

[unhappycamper]

Cruiser, amphib test Aegis today in shootdown
By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jun 5, 2008 8:01:30 EDT

HONOLULU — The U.S. military plans to intercept a ballistic missile in its first sea-based missile defense test since the cruiser Lake Erie shot down an errant satellite in a real-world mission earlier this year.

The test, off Kauai, is the latest test of the Aegis ballistic missile defense program. The military will fire a Scud-like missile, which has a range of a few hundred miles, from the decommissioned amphibious assault ship Tripoli.

The Lake Erie will fire two interceptor missiles at the target with the intention of shooting it down in its final seconds of flight.

If all goes well, the intercept should occur within the Earth’s atmosphere, or within 100 miles of the Earth’s surface.

The Aegis system accomplished a similar task once before: two years ago, the Lake Erie shot down a missile fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai in its final stage of flight.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_missiletest_060508/