14 DAY TRIAL // About two weeks ago, towards the end of January, guys and gals working with the US Navy got to have some fun firing a missile at a moving shipping container.
Don't fret, this little experiment of theirs was thoroughly documented with the help of video cameras, and just yesterday, footage showing the missile moving through the container at warp speed hit the public eye.
The video in question, available below, comprises scenes shot with cameras positioned at different angles. Hence the fact that we can feast our eyes on the sight of the missile hitting the container, exiting it and then skipping across the water.
How the missile shot played out
It is understood that this jaw-dropping training exercise was conducted in the waters off the coast of California's San Nicolas Island on January 27, USNI News informs.
The weapon used in the exercise, identified as a Raytheon Tomahawk land attack missile, was fired from US Navy ship the USS Kidd (DDG-100). This vessel is named after the Rear Admiral Issac C. Kidd, who lost his life during World War II.
The beginning of the video shows the missile leaving the USS Kidd (DDG-100) and flying across the water. Eventually, it reaches the moving shipping container and punches a hole right through it.
Having made it all the way through the shipping container, the Raytheom Tomahawk missile keeps flying for a short while before losing altitude, skipping across the water for a few moments and then disappearing from sight.
So, why was this exercise conducted?
Contrary to what some might assume, the US Navy did not stage this little experiment just for the fun of it. Thus, the goal was to prove that it is possible to use a Raytheon Tomahawk land attack missile to hit a moving target at sea.
Well, judging by holes the missile left on either side of the shipping container unfortunate enough to be used in this training exercise, there is little doubt that the US Navy achieved just what it set out to do.
“It demonstrates the viability of long-range communications for position updates of moving targets,” said Captain Joe Mauser, Tomahawk Weapons System program manager for Naval Air Systems Command.
“This success further demonstrates the existing capability of Tomahawk as a netted weapon, and in doing so, extends its reach beyond fixed and re-locatable points to moving targets,” he added.
