For the second time in as many months, a test of the Pentagon's missile defense system has ended in fiasco with an interceptor missile failing to launch from its silo, defense officials said.Well, boys, if at first you don't succeed; try, try again.
The Missile Defense Agency said the failure became apparent when an interceptor that was supposed to shoot down an incoming target missile carrying a mock warhead did not take off from the Ronald Reagan Test Site located on the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific.
"The reason for not launching is under investigation, and program officials are reviewing data to determine the cause," the agency said in a statement.
The setback was most likely caused by a malfunction of the ground support equipment rather than defects of the missile itself, the officials pointed out.
Generally speaking, the WMD team is in favor of missile defense. The program has its problems, but you can read more about that here in my MVCA column from last week.
