Navy Begins Testing Multiple Launchers Aboard New Cruiser
The Navy conducted its first test aboard a warship of a system that can launch cruise and other missiles simultaneously--a capability that allows for more lethal and concentrated firepower, the Pentagon said Friday.
The Vertical Launching System fired four test missiles this week from the cruiser Bunker Hill, which is undergoing sea trials and is to be commissioned in September. The launching system will go into operation at the same time.
The Bunker Hill, sixth of the Ticonderoga class, is equipped with the Aegis radar system so that hostile aircraft can be detected and tracked in all directions at once.
The vertical launchers represent improvement over the armored box launchers that are aboard the battleship New Jersey, loaded with Tomahawk cruise missiles. They will be installed aboard other Aegis cruisers, battleships and the new Burke class of destroyers, a Navy spokesman said.
The launchers can fire cruise, surface-to-air or Harpoon anti-ship missiles simultaneously.
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