back to article US cruiser nails crippled spy-sat on first shot

Pentagon officials say that a malfunctioning US spy satellite targeted for destruction has been hit by a missile-defence interceptor. The dead spacecraft smashed into a kinetic kill vehicle, lobbed into the satellite's path 250km above the Pacific by a Standard missile from US cruiser Lake Erie. According to a Pentagon release …

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  1. Morten Ranulf Clausen
    Thumb Up

    The Truth Shall Make You Fret

    "I could of course be completely barking"

    Luther my man, you're dead on target... ;-)

  2. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. gizmo
    Black Helicopters

    Who's yer daddy

    Do you really think that the US would show their *true* capabilities. This was just a little public show so that everybody would think that the US tech is not nearly as advanced as it is. In reality, they could have used one of the many satellite based death rays to vaporize this space junk but that would have tipped their hand...

  4. ian

    A salute to the Great Leader??

    It seems that the US have sold the Japanese several Aegis cruisers with anti-missile missiles for defense against the N. Koreans. This latest has several implications on that front:

    1. The Japanese now know that their nice shiny anti-missile's software can be hacked to turn them into space weapons. Given that the Japanese public is not in favor of extending the battle space into ... erm, space, this should not go over well.

    2. The US Navy had to make this shoot-down work. Otherwise the Japanese would feel that they had been sold a dud.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    IT Angle

    @Blackley: Is a tinfoil hat included with your bridge?

    So you don't believe the satellite was shot down, and you don't believe

    that it's "not a capability that will be coming into service".

    So, to summarize:

    Americans are stupid, the exercise was not successful

    Americans are evil, they plan to fail to shoot down satellites in the future

    To quote Britney: "huh?"

  6. George
    Stop

    @ Guy Fawkes

    Boot other foot? You show me a fatal incident in the last 5 years involving friendly fire from British troops against US troops.

    I am guessing you are American and therefore find it difficult to take critisism from a country whose army are used to train armies all over the world, admired and respected for their resilience, control and effectiveness despite limited size and equipment.

    We mostly all respect the US on some level but you should never mistake this for blind respect ignoring all previous incidents.

    Nobody is perfect.

  7. heystoopid
    Coat

    @ian

    @ian surely you jest since the bulk of the US military electronics is heavily dependent on Japanese Microelectronics to function at the best of times !

    As for the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force they always build their own and are actually based on a heavily modified Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer

    the second link gives the break down and disposition of the the Japanese Maritime Force current largest class in use is in fact Destroyers with displacements less the 12,000 tonnes.

    Further they only have six commissioned aegis class destroyers in their entire fleet .

    link 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kong%C5%8D_class_destroyer

    link 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Maritime_Self-Defense_Force

    (I'll get my coat)

  8. Thomas Allen
    Coat

    You say 'vapour' I say 'vapor'

    It is highly unlikely that US marine general James Cartwright - vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said anything about a "vapour cloud". To quote a US General properly, you must know he would say "vapor cloud".

    Further, when British missiles hit a British satellite, you may call the resultant dispersed gases a "vapuor cloud" but so long as American missiles hit American satellites, I must tell you, scientifically, that only vapor clouds are released. American satellites emit only vapor clouds, and never vapour clouds.

    The frayed jeans-jacket, please.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    British friendly fire on allied troops

    You asked for it, you got it!

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3070875.ece

  10. George

    @ Anonymous Coward

    Fair enough, I'm wrong.

    My point about respect still stands

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    @AC and other defensive types

    Yeah, but they're Danish...will anyone notice???

    Of course I'm kidding before anyone jumps on the pedestal.

    We don't dislike the americans (well i think i speak for most Brits), it's just in our nature to poke fun at you, cos you all take yourselves far too seriously.

    Also the, John McCain, Yippe ky yay, approach to warfare that seems to be the stereotype of the US soldier, induced by a combination of films and documentaries talking to rednecks who are just happy to be able to hold a gun, makes the friendly-fire joke the easiest one to go for. Plus the fact that 1/5 of British Casualties in Afghanistan were inflicted by friendly fire.

    So sit back, and have a laugh at yourselves, after all. At least you're nation is not responsible for producing every bad guy in a movie (almost always English or European, until the middle east recently took over).

    Furthermore, at least you all have perfectly formed teeth.

  12. storng.bare.durid
    Paris Hilton

    It's official..

    The yanks shot down the last remnants of their sense of humour.

    God almighty, poke fun at Uncle Sam and you get all these yanks annoyed :)

    Anyway after decades of turgid comedies like friends and rip-offs of Basil Fawlty (yes, there was a yank Fawlty Towers), I can't say it's any great loss.

    May you rust in pieces.

    I'll stick with my reruns of Bottom, thank you very much.

    :P

    And yes, paris hilton. just because.

  13. amanfromMars Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    FlowurPower2

    John McCain,... Vietnam war hero.

    Hmmm. ...... Did he not sit it out and miss all the action in his own private Guantanamo..... to prevent him inflicting suffering on ......well, foreigners to him but natives to the Land he was in.

    Yeah, Right On....Peace, Man.

    Do you think he is made of the Right Stuff .... Top Gun Presidential material?

    cc Barack Obama ..... the Great White Hope?

  14. Seán

    @Johnny Cobb

    Look at you with your brain all sweaty. I just watched Idiocracy so I'm well amused at you. You realise when it says "enemies foreign and domestic" domestic doesn't mean beer, or immigrant labour. 911 is a joke, is one of my favourite Public Enemy songs.

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