US blows up $100 m on missile defence system as test flops

The mock warhead, meant to simulate a nuclear attack on the United States, was launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9.19 p.m. and headed over the Pacific Ocean. Twenty minutes later, the interceptor rocket, called the "kill vehicle" was launched from a US Army base on the Marshall Islands, 4300 miles away.

Some 140 miles over the Pacific Ocean, it missed its target.Pentagon experts are to conduct an extensive review of the test data to determine why the interceptor missed the target and the preliminary report will be available in the next 48 hours, officials said.

The controversial test would have been a decisive step towards the US erecting a missile defence system somewhere in Alaska, starting as early as this coming summer. The shield, to be fully installed by 2005, is said to act primarily as a defence against possible missile attacks from "rogue countries" like North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. But Russia and China believe it is aimed long term against them and have criticised it fiercely, saying it will spark a new arms race and force them to come out with bigger and better missiles. Russia, in particular, has warned that the US erecting a missile defence system would violate the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty between the two countries.

US officials maintain the program is modest and aimed only at stopping stray missile attacks from rogue countries. It cannotstop a full-scale nuclear attack.

The test will also have major fallout within the US, both politically and militarily. Republican presidential hopefuls and other party heavyweights are all in favour of stepped up activity on the missile defense front. The Democrats are more cautious. Major military-industrial contractors like Boeing and Raytheon, both of who were involved in the test, are also eagerly waiting for more orders to execute.

There will no be another test in April or May, the third in the series. The first test last October was pronounced a success. But for the project to move forward needs two successful hits. US experts have indicated that the initial phase of the project could see up to 100 interceptor missiles deployed at a projected cost of $ 12.7 billion. Even a fuller shield of 200 missiles, expected to be in place by 2011, can intercept only "tens, not hundreds" of incoming enemy missiles, experts say.