U.S. Missile Strays, Smashes Into Japanese Computer Station in Utah
An unarmed cruise missile went off course during a test in the Utah desert and smashed into an unoccupied Japanese computer station.
The 20-foot missile damaged computers that operate seven Japanese telescopes.
The missile was launched Wednesday afternoon from a B-52 bomber that had taken off from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., a base spokesman said.
After failing to make a turn, the missile crashed into trailers leased to the University of Tokyo on the edge of the Cedar Mountains, 60 miles west of Salt Lake City.
Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) issued a sharp rebuke to the Air Force over the crash.
Hatch said it was “simply shortsighted to test a missile system designed for long-range targets within 20 miles” not only of the trailers but also of housing units and sensitive biological and chemical storage facilities at the Army’s Dugway Proving Ground.
The Air Force did not say what the missile’s target was.
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