LIHU‘E, — U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye says the military’s program for testing medium-range missile interceptor rockets will remain at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on the Westside, according to a spokesman. “Due to the unique location and breadth of
LIHU‘E, — U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye says the military’s program for testing medium-range missile interceptor rockets will remain at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on the Westside, according to a spokesman.
“Due to the unique location and breadth of the Pacific Missile Range, Senator Inouye is assured that Barking Sands will remain the premier choice for longerrange missile testing well into the future,” spokesman Mike Yuen said.
Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., asked the Defense Department to look into the possibility of taking the missile testing mission away from the Navy range at Barking Sands, on the western tip of Kaua‘i, and moving it to the Army’s White Sands Missile Range in his home state.
For the past decade, interceptor missiles designed to knock down hostile rockets have undergone preliminary tests at White Sands.
Missiles then are sent either to Kauai or to the Army’s missile range at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands for final testing.
The Kaua‘i range has been the testing range for the Navy’s sea-launched interceptor rocket scheduled to go into service next year.
It is also slated for testing of the Army’s new Theater High Altitude Air Defense Missile, scheduled to begin testing late in 2005.
Since 1998, Inouye has helped secure about $400 million to upgrade the Kaua‘i facility — the island’s largest employer — for future test programs.
