WASHINGTON, (BM) – A Russian reconnaissance warship in international waters, but near Hawaii, observed and tracked the missile tests of the U.S. Navy over the weekend, BulgarianMilitary.com has learned. However, the tests raise even more serious questions, as the U.S. Navy’s attempt to test its missile capabilities failed twice.
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U.S. Navy spokesman Captain John Gay gave this information to a press briefing after the failed tests. According to the American captain, the presence of a Russian reconnaissance ship is not accidental, but the Navy knows about it and monitors it using patrol planes and ships.
“Through maritime patrol aircraft, surface ships, and joint capabilities, we can closely monitor all vessels in the Indo-Pacific area of operations,” Capt. Gay said.
The tests
More alarming than the Russian reconnaissance ship near the U.S. Navy are the failed anti-missile tests. Over the weekend, the Navy had to intercept two ballistic missiles in its waters around Hawaii through its battleship Aegis. The functionality of the ship is just that – tracking and intercepting ballistic missiles.
However, the tests failed, and the fleet could not intercept the ballistic missile twice, which was of medium-range according to the U.S. military. The reasons for the failure have not yet been announced, but the Navy has said it is launching an investigation into how the loss occurred. According to the U.S. Department of Defense sources, such tests have never been a problem, and the Navy has regularly achieved its tasks.
“The objective of the test was to demonstrate the capability of ballistic missile defense (BMD) -configured Aegis ship to detect, track, engage and intercept a medium-range ballistic missile target with a salvo of two Standard Missile-6 Dual II -initialized) missiles. However, we did not achieve an intercept,” the MDA said in a brief statement. “Program officials have initiated an extensive review to determine the cause of any problems which may have prevented a successful intercept and will thoroughly analyze the results.”
The day after the new budget
The two failed tests come at the wrong time. On Friday, May 28, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed that the U.S. missile defense agency receive $ 8.9 billion in 2022. That amount is nearly $ 200 million less than the agency’s budget this year.
Despite the minimal negative difference in the budget, experts say that this money is enough for the United States to continue to develop its defense capabilities in missile defense. Much of the funding will go to research and engineering work to create new defense capabilities.
The U.S. missile and air defense are crucial to ensuring U.S. security against the backdrop of growing threats from Russia and China and their rapid development in the production of precision intercontinental ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
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