WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Problems with two heat-seeking guides on a U.S. anti-missile weapon six seconds from its target apparently caused Tuesday night's failure of a major missile defense test, a defense official said on Wednesday.
"The preliminary indication is that we had a malfunction on both'' infra-red devices aboard the weapon, preventing it from smashing into and destroying a mock enemy warhead over the Pacific Ocean, the official told reporters at the Pentagon.
But the official, who asked not to be identified, said other parts of the test including input from U.S. radars and satellites worked as designed. He expressed confidence that the apparent problem on the weapon, built by Raytheon Co., could be fixed.
"Can we overcome this challenge? Absolutely,'' the official said, despite charges from critics that space-age technology has not matured enough for the United States to confidently and quickly build a revolutionary national missile defense system.
The failed $100-million test, which followed a successful U.S. intercept last October, could have a negative impact on President Clinton's planned decision this summer on whether to begin building an anti-missile base in Alaska at a cost of more than $12 billion despite objections from Russia.
The weapon was fired from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific at a dummy warhead which was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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