Pentagon Tester Lacks 'High Confidence' in U.S. Missile Defense

The Pentagon’s weapons tester says he doesn’t have “high confidence” that the Boeing Co.-managed U.S. missile defense would be effective against even a rudimentary North Korean missile.

Testing against the possible trajectories and altitudes of a North Korean missile has been limited and hasn’t generated enough data to run the thousands of computer simulations needed to predict performance, Charles McQueary wrote in his annual report to Congress.

“Additional test data collected under realistic conditions is necessary to increase confidence,” he wrote.

North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile, possibly within two weeks, according to a U.S. intelligence official. The Stalinist state today announced plans to launch a satellite; South Korea’s defense minister said the regime may instead be preparing a long-range missile test.

The U.S. is concerned about the potential for North Korea to develop missiles capable of reaching Alaska or even the western coast of the American mainland. -- more