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In the Military
Gregg K. Kakesako
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U.S. missile defense nearly ready
The Missile Defense Agency last month placed its eighth interceptor missile into an underground silo at Fort Greely in Alaska, according to the Pentagon. Two more interceptors already have been placed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The anti-ballistic missiles are designed to destroy attacking long-range enemy ballistic missiles.
Part of the military's anti-missile defense system is a 28-story radar built on a mobile, self-propelled modified oil rig. The Sea-Based X-Band Radar Platform arrived at Pearl Harbor last week for several weeks of refurbishing before making the final leg of a 17,000-mile voyage to Adak in the Aleutian Islands, where it will be permanently installed. Although home-ported in Adak, it will be capable of moving throughout the Pacific Ocean to support both advanced missile defense testing and defensive operations.
"The interceptors are part of an integrated system of ground, sea and space-based sensors, ground and sea-based radar and an advanced command and control, battle management and communication system designed to detect and track a hostile ballistic missile, then launch and guide an interceptor to destroy the target warhead before it can reach its intended target in any of our 50 states," said Rick Lehner, spokesman for the missile agency, in a news release last week.
The interceptors "can be brought to alert status in an emergency but they are not yet on 24/7 alert," Lehner added. "'Shakedown' training sessions are still ongoing by U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Northern Command."
The anti-ballistic missiles in Alaska and California use "hit-to-kill" technology: They destroy incoming enemy missiles by colliding with them -- often described as hitting a bullet with a bullet, the news release said.
The Missile Defense Agency has tested its hit-to-kill interceptor technology many times over the past several years. "A total of nine planned ground-based intercept tests have taken place since 1999; five have resulted in successful intercepts," Lehner said.
Since 2002 the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser Lake Erie has been involved in eight at-sea missile intercept tests off of Kauai's Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range, which resulted in seven successful intercepts.
Moving up
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Kaneohe Bay: Cmdr. Neil Karnes has assumed command of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light 37, relieving Cmdr. Patrick Molenda.
"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other sources by reporter
Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at 294-4075 or by e-mail at
gkakesako@starbulletin.com.