WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Testing phases of two U.S. missile systems was successfully completed Friday with launches against targets off the coast of California and at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Army anti-aircraft troops successfully intercepted a cruise missile at White Sands Friday with a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile while a Navy destroyer launched the latest version of the Harpoon anti-ship missile at a moving target in the Pacific off Point Mugu.
The long-range Harpoon Block II is fired by warships against other ships and coastal targets. It carries a 500-pound conventional warhead and is controlled by a global positioning system guidance system.
Boeing, the missile's producer, intends to supply the new Harpoon to the Navy and to foreign nations.
"The Harpoon Block II missile has successfully demonstrated its effectiveness against sea and land targets," said Jim O'Neill, general manager of Boeing's Navy Missile Systems. "We can now provide our customers with a low-cost, low-risk approach to protecting waterways and littoral (coastal) regions."
While the Harpoon is an offensive weapon, the Patriot continues to be developed as a defensive measure against a variety of lethal missiles that might someday be aimed at U.S. and friendly nation troops.
The original Patriot gained international fame during the Gulf War when it seemingly notched numerous kills of Iraqi Scud missiles launched against coalition troops and Israel. Further study after the war, however, revealed that the Patriot wasn't nearly as effective as had been believed due to the speed of the incoming Scuds and difficulties with the targeting systems.
The PAC-3, however, has the added task of knocking down enemy aircraft; cruise missiles that race along at low altitudes -- sometimes below radar -- and Scud-like theatre ballistic missiles that could contain nuclear or chemical warheads.
The new system is equipped with a phased-array radar and upgraded software.
"The PAC-3 has been tremendously successful during developmental testing," said Jim Berry, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "We have proven conclusively through these tests that the PAC-3 missile is fully capable of defeating the entire threat to the Patriot air defense system: tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft."
Lockheed said the PAC-3, which is already in low-rate production and will move to operational testing phase, was able to destroy a cruise missile that was flying at low altitude and against a background of radar clutter. The kill was the ninth test intercept for the PAC-3 in 10 tries, according to Lockheed.
Berry said that the PAC-3 has an added size advantage that allows anti-aircraft gunners to load a dozen rockets into a Patriot launcher compared to four in the original version. He also predicted that the relatively low cost of the Pac-3 could be reduced further if foreign orders are factored into the production schedule.
"When we add expected foreign PAC-3 production, we're talking about a missile that will be well below the $2 million mark," Berry said.
(Reported by Hil Anderson in Los Angeles.)
