ANTI-MISSILE TESTS OFF

ANTI-MISSILE TESTS OFF
President Bush wants a missile defense system in place by 2004. But the Missile Defense Agency has cancelled the next two tests of its top program, the Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptor, Global Security Newswire reports.
The program has had its troubles in the past. The last test of the system, in December, flopped because of a failed booster system. The one before that was planned for August 2002, and then was twice delayed, to October.
When the test finally did happen, it was dumbed down severely, with "a transponder on the mock warhead provid(ing) early flight trajectory and location data (to the interceptor)," according to the Center for Defense Information.
The next test is now scheduled for the fall of 2003.