The head of Boeing Co.’s defense business is calling for more testing on the U.S. ground-based missile defense system, even as he says this summer’s failed trials did provide valuable information for the program’s development.
Dennis Muilenberg, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space and Security said he expects the Pentagon’s review of the July 5 test should be complete in the coming weeks. Speaking at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit, Muilenberg said the test did reveal more information about the system and its capabilities.
“The reason we do these test shots is to push the system to demonstrate the integration capability, and to take on new and more difficult targets and challenges,” Muilenburg said in a Reuters interview.
We’ll get to the bottom of what happened and we’ll continue to invest in the system in a way that makes it reliable for the country.
The test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense was the first in more than four years involving shooting down a surrogate missile incoming towards the U.S. The missile did not hit its long-range ballistic missile target and Reuters later reported a faulty battery was to blame.
The system has a 50 percent success rate since testing began in 1999. The test was the third consecutive failure involving the interceptor system managed by prime contractor Boeing Co. The missile’s interceptor is built by Raytheon, with the third stage built by Orbital Science Corp.
According to Reuters, the exact cause of the failure was a lithium oxyhalide battery made by Eagle Picher that went off before the parts of the missile separated. It is not clear if the problem was caused by the battery itself or if the electrical circuits controlling it caused the issues.
Muilenberg would not confirm the cause of the failure but joined with some lawmakers in calling for an increase in regular testing.
“We see a need to continue to test that program … on a regular basis. That’s what will drive the reliability of the system,” he said, adding the company is working to address any issues.
“We’ll get to the bottom of what happened and we’ll continue to invest in the system in a way that makes it reliable for the country,” he said.
