Japan intercepts missile in milestone test

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Japan intercepts missile in milestone test
Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:41am EST

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Japanese navy destroyer
shot down a dummy ballistic missile in a test about
100 miles above the Pacific on Monday, a first for a
U.S. ally, Japanese and U.S. forces said.

The $55 million test interception at 7:12 a.m. Tuesday
Japan time (5:12 p.m. EDT) followed years of growing
U.S.-Japanese missile-defense ties, sparked by North
Korea's firing of a Taepo Dong 1 ballistic missile over
Japan on August 31, 1998.

-snip-

The interceptor was fired by the Kongo, the first of
four Japanese destroyers due to be outfitted to counter
missiles that could carry chemical, biological or nuclear
warheads.

-snip-

The test involved a shipboard detection and tracking
tool called Aegis built by Lockheed Martin Corp and the
Standard Missile-3 interceptor produced by Raytheon Co.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1765367420071218

[BridgeTheGap]

1. Key question: did the intercepted missile contain a homing device?

Don't laugh. It's been done before and not revealed until well after the "succesful test."

[papau]

2. Homing devise, known trajectory and time of lift off, and close equals "shot down" n/t

[ManiacJoe]

3. Close?

As in (1) starting from relative nearness, or (2) near miss is good enough?

[papau]

4. near miss is "good enough" as explosion, if timed correctly, would change orbit - of

course it would still land somewhere - but that is phase two of the project (perhaps a bigger warhead so we just get atomic rain).