Sunday, March 30, 2003
5 cruise missiles stray into Saudi Arabia, 2 in Turkey
Agence France-Presse March 29
About five US sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles have strayed into Saudi Arabia, and a couple more into Turkey, since the Iraq war began, prompting a suspension of missile launches along most lanes through their airspace, a US defence official said Saturday.
"I think at some point they'll reopen," the official said, adding that it was not expected to have an adverse effect on US air operations. "There are options to go other ways," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"It's just in the first couple of days when you're firing lots of them you need lots of different avenues. But now, when you're only firing a few, you can probably fire them from one particular location," he said.
The official said he did not know whether the cruise missile flights were suspended at the request of the Saudi or Turkish government, or whether US forces decided on their own to hold off until they had determined what caused the missiles to go astray.
The missiles that went astray in Saudi Arabia and Turkey did not explode, the official said.
The missiles have 1,000-pound warheads but are not armed until they reach their pre-programmed target. Fired from warships and submarines, they have a range of more than 1,600 kilometers.
At Central Command headquarters in Qatar, Major General Victor Renuart said a review of launch procedures was underway and some routes had been put on hold.
"Basically we have a situation where the Saudis said can you see if you can figure out what caused (missiles to land on Saudi territory), and we do not want to endanger the people of Saudi Arabia or any country where they might transit," he told reporters. "We've actually coordinated with the Saudis to hold on a couple of routes where they could be close to any civilian population."
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