Stark’s Missile System May Have Been Malfunctioning

Military investigators probing the attack on the frigate Stark informed the Pentagon Friday that they have focused their inquiry on a suspicion that the ship’s Phalanx anti-missile gun system was not in complete working order, knowledgeable sources say.

The sources, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, stressed that there is no evidence the Phalanx gun could not have fired on the missiles approaching the Stark if the crew had had time to switch it on automatic.

The ship’s skipper, Capt. Glenn R. Brindel, has said he was maintaining the Phalanx in a manual mode at the time of the attack and didn’t have time to switch it on automatic.

According to the sources, however, even in the manual mode the Phalanx system should have alerted the crew that its radar was tracking something.

“It would not have fired, but it should have provided alarms,” said one official who asked not to be identified. “The report that it didn’t is troubling and that’s where (the investigators) are starting.”

The Pentagon has said that the Iraqi plane fired its missiles at a range of 11 to 12 miles.

Built for the Navy by the General Dynamics Corp. at Pomona, Calif., the Phalanx is the last line of defense against missile attack for a surface ship. According to the sources, it was the only system aboard the Stark that offered a realistic chance of defending the ship because the Iraqi warplane fired at such close range.

The sources dismissed reports that the Stark departed on its fateful patrol the day before the attack with a totally inoperable Phalanx system.

“If they had flipped the switch to automatic, it would have worked,” one said. “There is no indication that it wouldn’t have worked.

“But that doesn’t mean the system was fully functional in all modes,” this source continued. “And that’s what we’re investigating.”

In simple terms, the Phalanx system is a highly automated, radar-controlled Gatling gun. It is designed to fire heavy, 20-millimeter rounds at a rate of 3,000 per minute, blowing apart any missile that comes within a range of roughly a mile of the ship.

According to defense and industry sources, when the system is in a manual mode, it will not open fire.

Statement Questioned

“But the radar is still tracking and it’s supposed to sound alarms,” said one source, noting that the captain has said he received no such warning.

An industry source, meantime, questioned Brindel’s statement that he kept the Stark’s Phalanx in manual to ensure that it did not fire on friendly aircraft or ships in the crowded gulf.

“Regardless of mode, you can program the system to look only for certain things--like something moving at the speed of a rocket,” this source said.

The Pentagon officials refused to discuss the possibility that the Stark’s Phalanx was in a manual mode because it couldn’t be properly programmed to discriminate different targets.

Death Toll of 37

The sources said a classified message from investigators was received at the Pentagon Friday from Bahrain, where the Stark is now anchored after last Sunday night’s devastating attack. Thirty-seven sailors died when at least one missile fired from an Iraqi warplane exploded in the ship’s forward compartments.

“The message offers no findings, but states they are narrowing the inquiry initially to focus on the status of the Phalanx,” one source said.

“The Stark has systems that can be employed against missiles besides the Phalanx, including electronic-jamming systems and chaff to confuse the (missile’s) radar,” said one source. “But they don’t help you when the missile is fired at a range of 11 miles. There’s not enough time.”

“Our weapons are not designed for peacetime,” said another official. “If you’re at war, or you suspect you could be attacked, you take out the airplane before it has a chance to fire anything.

Other Systems

“We do not want to fight a missile. It’s that simple.”

In related developments Friday:

- The Pentagon sources insisted that there were other detection systems on the Stark besides the Phalanx’s radar that should have alerted the crew that a missile had been fired. The status of those systems will be investigated, they said.

- The sources said the Pentagon was no longer discounting the possibility that Iraq had found a way to modify its French-built Mirage F-1 fighters to carry two Exocet missiles at a time.