Missile Test Won’t Reflect an Attack

The Pentagon concedes a crucial test for the planned national missile defense system is being conducted Friday under conditions far more favorable than an actual attack would allow, Time magazine reports. Crews firing the interceptor from a Pacific atoll will have thorough knowledge of the launch, origin and power of the target missile, probably none of which would be available during a real attack, the magazine says in its issue on newsstands today. It quotes the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester saying all attempted intercepts until 2004 will have intercept crews fully briefed on the “timing, direction and countermeasures” employed by incoming missiles. This week’s test will be pivotal to President Clinton’s decision whether to give a go-ahead for further development.