Electrical Leak Suspected in U.S. Missile’s Failure
By Tony Capaccio Mar 25, 2014 12:15 PM ET
An electrical leak from a battery may have prevented a Raytheon Co. (RTN) warhead from separating from its booster rocket in a missile-defense test that failed in July, according to findings emerging from a Pentagon review.
The “most likely root causes” are a combination of electrical leakage during activation of the warhead’s battery after launch and the “susceptibility of some” components to it, according to a Jan. 23 letter to Congress that wasn’t previously made public.
The failed test has clouded prospects for the Pentagon’s plan to increase the number of Orbital Sciences Corp. (ORB) booster rockets in silos to 44 by fiscal 2017 from 30 today. The 14 added rockets would be equipped with a new warhead. The missile-defense system is aimed at fending off a potential attack by a small number of intercontinental missiles from countries such as North Korea or Iran.
The weapon in the test that failed on July 5 was a model first fielded in 2004 that today arms 20 of 30 interceptors in silos in Alaska and California. Before the failure the warhead had scored three straight interceptions of test targets, according to the Missile Defense Agency.
Boeing Co. (BA), based in Chicago, is the prime contractor on the ground-based system of radar, interceptors and command centers. Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences assembles the booster that’s equipped with a non-explosive warhead made by Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon. Falls Church, Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) builds the command-and-control network.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-25/electrical-leak-suspected-in-u-s-missile-s-failure.html
