Missiles Everywhere... Will Missile Defense Work?

Missile defense... Will it work?

How would anybody know? Well I can guess that the pundits have no idea. Complex projects like this one take a lot of work. Engineering is the task of taking scientific principles and converting them, bending them to your will - if you permit me, to a usable product. The scientific principles are sound. Physics says you can hit one object with another object and stop it with a kinetic energy transfer (explosive or direct impact). All that is left is the engineering. Is it feasible to build a system that kills a target moving very fast with today's technology?

For the moment, let us just say yes. If this is true, then all it takes are a bunch of engineers, some managers, some support folks, some time, some money, and a lot of testing.

Here we are at my point. Unless you test a system, many, many times, it will not work. Every testing failure is an opportunity to learn. For those of you out there who don't understand engineering, let me give you a tidbit of knowledge about the field - everything you learn is from a failure. In fact, failures are usually the only time you learn. Every time something goes wrong, you learn more about the system than you knew before you began the test. With each successive, and hopefully new, failure, you learn just a bit more. Until eventually you have a successful and robust operational system.

Unfortunately, the missile defense system must operate on the public forum and each failure is plastered all over the news. In this environment, managers get nervous about public failure. Who can blame them? Many programs are based on the public perception of them. How does congress view the program? How does the media/public view the program? These are all real concerns, and they take over the program. Till eventually, you are afraid to test the system, because you are afraid of failure. When instead, we need to embrace failure, because that is how we learn, and how eventually you get a working robust operational system.

The media needs to lay off, and let the people work.

New York Times Article

North Korea test-fired at least six missiles over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday morning, including an intercontinental missile that apparently failed or was aborted 42 seconds after it was launched, White House and Pentagon officials said.

Time Online Article

...the technological challenge of building a missile shield has turned out to far more daunting than originally thought. In a series of scripted $100 million tests, 155-pound interceptors have destroyed dummy warheads in just five out of 10 tries between 1999 and 2005. The two most recent tests failed when the boosters designed to lob the interceptors into space failed to launch. After spending a year beefing up quality control, two tests are planned for later this year. Despite the system's shakiness, the White House in 2002 ordered the Pentagon to build it, citing "the contemporary and emerging missile threat from hostile states." Because of the perceived urgency, the Pentagon relaxed its normal procurement rules and testing requirements.

Tags: Aerospace | Defense | Engineering