February 25, 2000; The Navy has conducted the first live warhead test of the SLAMER (Standoff Land-Attack Missile Expanded Response) missile against a ship (the decommissioned cruiser Dale). SLAMER is fitted with a 500-pound shaped-charge warhead with a titanium liner. This is designed to blast a hole into a carefully selected point on a ship (the missile is targeted by an on-board video camera), reaching into ammunition magazines or other vulnerable points. The warhead used in the tests reportedly performed better than expected. --Stephen V Cole