The Pentagon announced Monday that it is “confident” that the Standard Missile-3 fired Feb. 20 from the USS Lake Erie did indeed destroy the hydrazine tank, the main object of the Feb. 20 shot to impact a decaying intelligence satellite. In a statement, Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “We have a high degree of confidence the satellite’s fuel tank was destroyed and the hydrazine has been dissipated.” Cartwright went on to credit the “tremendous” interagency teamwork, orchestrated by US Strategic Command. Air Force Space Command assets played a major role, beginning weeks earlier with the planning and continuing as they monitor the debris field, said AFSPC boss Gen. Robert Kehler last week at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
