Heads Up!

Tomahawk tests go awry

The launch was textbook perfect. The 21-ft.-long unarmed Tomahawk cruise missile arched gracefully away a week ago Sunday from the destroyer U.S.S. Merrill, stationed off the California coast near San Clemente Island. It sped toward its target in Tonopah, Nev., 375 miles away but, to the chagrin of the Navy, never made it. The air-breathing projectile began behaving erratically above sparsely populated regions of Southern California and crashed harmlessly into Los Padres National Forest.

It is likely to be weeks before experts of the manufacturer, General Dynamics Corp., determine the cause of the accident. Speculation among technicians centered on possible flaws in the TERCOM onboard computer program, which is designed to keep the missile on track with the preprogrammed terrain features below. It was the fourth such accident since mid-1979 along the ten-mile-wide test-flight path, one that happens to come within ten miles of Ronald Reagan's ranch. But the Pentagon says that the test results, on the whole, are not worrisome: of the 81 Tomahawk flights so far, 61 have gone according to plan--a respectable percentage.

For the Pentagon, the spectacular 6,200-ft. peaks of Los Padres Forest provide an ideal test of the missile's ability to hug terrain, as well as an imaginary battleground over which it can execute sophisticated flying maneuvers. But occasionally Tomahawks get more public attention than desired. Horseback riders once watched in disbelief as a missile crashed just 200 yds. away. Another missile plunged into a ravine on a ranch south of Lompoc. Said the owner: "If I were a Russian, I wouldn't be too worried." The Pentagon is certain it can keep everything under control. It points out that F-4 Phantoms always fly in the vicinity of the missile as protective chase planes. In the event the Tomahawk strays from its course, the F-4 pilots can push a button and send the missile plummeting to the ground. Promises the Navy: "There is no possibility the cruise will ever crash into a city." But it still might shock the cowboys. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.