Key US missile defense components not yet tested under realistic conditions

WASHINGTON (AFP) Apr 24, 2004
Key elements of a US national missile defense system scheduled for initial deployment later this year have not been tested under realistic conditions, making it difficult to assess their ability to perform, US congressional investigators have found.

The conclusion made by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the US Congress, comes as the administration of President George W. Bush is forging ahead with deployment of the multi-layered system designed to protect the United States from missiles launched by rogue states such as North Korea and Iran.

The current plan calls for deploying the first 10 missile intercepters at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by this September and doubling their number by December 2005.

However, the GAO report made public Friday casts doubt about the effectiveness of the initial deployment because of testing deficiencies and production delays.

"As a result of testing shortfalls, the predicted effectiveness of the Block 2004 system will be largely unproven," the agency said.

It went on to say that the testing program carried out last year "did little to demonstrate the predicted effectiveness" of the system and its ability to reliably shoot down incoming missiles.

The GAO held out little hope for improvement this year.

Although the Pentagon is trying to make flight tests as realistic as possible, "these tests will not be conducted under the unscripted conditions that characterize operational testing," the report said.

Moreover, technical problems and production delays were likely to result in failure to meet initial deployement goals, the investigators predicted.

Only five missile interceptors are now expected to be deployed by September 2004, and the deployment of all 20 kill vehicles by December 2005 is "uncertain", the report warned.

Defense contractors "have not demonstrated they can meet the increased production rate," the GAO concluded.

Also, a December 2005 deadline for upgrading 15 Aegis destoyers to make them capable to shoot down missiles was likely to slip to December 2006, according to the report.

In addition, the investigators complained of significant cost overruns, arguing that the first block of the system was 1.12 billion dollars over a budget laid out a year earlier.

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