No nukes for NMD missiles?

The Anchorage Daily News says the U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would block the use of nuclear warheads in the nation’s missile defense program, part of which is under construction in Alaska.

The U.S. government’s Missile Defense Agency says it isn’t exploring the possibility of using nuclear interceptors to knock out incoming enemy missiles.

The system it is testing relies on kinetic energy, that is, a very high-speed crash, to knock out incoming missiles.

Nuclear-armed missiles could be less accurate than conventional missiles, but still hit their targets. Critics maintain the electromagnetic pulse produced by an upper-atmosphere collision between two nuclear missiles would destroy satellite and electronic circuitry on the ground, causing havoc with communications and transportation.

But an advisory group with the U.S. military thinks missiles armed with nuclear warheads are still worth exploring, and has the go-ahead for a study.