THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 6, 1995 TAG: 9503060034
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
The Navy's attempt to get into the missile defense business suffered a third straight setback early Saturday off the North Carolina coast.
A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said problems in the third stage of a defensive missile fired from the guided-missile cruiser Richmond K. Turner kept it from reaching the height needed to intercept an ``attack'' rocket launched minutes earlier from Virginia's Eastern Shore.
The Navy is trying to add a third stage, topped by a high-tech ``LEAP'' vehicle (for Light Exoatmospheric Projectile), to Terrier missiles already in its inventory. Propelled beyond the atmosphere, the LEAP carries sophisticated tracking equipment and thrusters designed to allow it to lock in on and destroy an enemy missile.
The official said the first two stages of the Terrier appeared to function flawlessly
The missile firing from the Richmond K. Turner was the first at-sea test of the system. Two test attempts last month had to be scrubbed because of tracking problems aboard the ship or at NASA's Wallops Island test facility, the launching site for the target missile.
The initial failures sparked Army Lt. Gen. Malcolm O'Neill, director of the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, to override Navy plans to permit reporters to watch the test through a special satellite hookup. by CNB