Army eyeing missile test site

Plaquemines Parish, La., officials say the Army is considering building a missile test site at Port Eads. The Army told parish officials that it needs a site from which to launch missiles over the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico for target practice. In a statement, the Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Ala., said it received money for a feasibility study "to consider locations within the Gulf Coast region as potential sites for test and evaluation assets." The Air Force already operates aerial combat ranges in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including live-fire ranges off the Panhandle involving air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09/08/10)