BARKING SANDS — Just after sunset on Tuesday, mysterious zig-zag lines were seen hovering high above the island of Kauai. “Last night, who watched the news and saw things about aliens?” Capt. Bruce Hay, commander of the Pacific Missile Range
BARKING SANDS — Just after sunset on Tuesday, mysterious zig-zag lines were seen hovering high above the island of Kauai.
“Last night, who watched the news and saw things about aliens?” Capt. Bruce Hay, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, asked a crowd gathered for an appreciation luncheon at the base Wednesday.
As it turned out, the illuminated lines in the sky were the wind-twisted vapor trails from a historic missile launch at PMRF on Kauai’s Westside, according to base spokesman Stefan Alford.
During the Wednesday luncheon, a team of nine Navy sailors were recognized for their work related to the successful launch.
“These are the people who are responsible for the aliens,” Hay joked.
Tuesday marked the first test flight of a new missile defense system designed to protect NATO forces in Europe from ballistic missile attack. The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy used the Aegis Weapon System to successfully track and intercept a simulated target. The Aegis Ashore system is one year away from its full operational deployment in Romania, with a second site on track for Poland in 2018.
“Our president has said that we will meet a directive to provide this capability to our friends in Romania and Poland,” Hay said. “But who’s making it possible? These nine sailors, and the rest of the team at PMRF.”
While the sailors may not brag, Hay said he had no problem doing it for them.
“They’re doing great things. They’re making history and they’re keeping the aliens at bay,” he said.
Rear Adm. Richard Williams Jr., commander of Navy Region Hawaii, also spoke during Wednesday’s event. He said the launch “certainly sent a signal to the rest of the world last night” and was significant for the Navy, the missile defense community and all the other stakeholders.
The Aegis Ashore system uses the same SM-3 missiles deployed on U.S. and Japanese navy ships today. Manufactured by Raytheon Co., the missiles destroy incoming ballistic missile threats in space using sheer impact. The company said the force is equivalent to a 10-ton truck traveling 600 mph.
Tuesday’s test was the first of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system using a land-based missile launcher. In previous tests, interceptor missiles were launched from ships.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
