U.S. Navy Ships Close to Getting Interceptors That Could Stop an ICBM
- Pentagon deputy transfers interceptors for possible deployment
- Move could add cost and performance uncertainty, GAO says
Photographer: AFP/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
The Pentagon’s No. 2 official has ordered 11 missile interceptors transferred from research and development for possible deployment on Navy ships in the Pacific or European regions after a test in November indicated they could stop an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In the test, the USS John Finn intercepted a mock ICBM intended to simulate one that could be launched at Hawaii by North Korea. The destroyer, operating near Hawaii, fired off one of the Standard Missile-3 model Block IIA interceptors built by Raytheon Technologies Corp. at the target launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.