A Canadian Navy missile test was aborted mid-flight this week after controllers lost communication with the projectile off the coast of Southern California.

The Harpoon Block II missile was lost at sea after being fired from HMCS Regina during a joint Canadian-US exercise at the US Navy’s Point Mugu Maritime Training Range near San Diego on Wednesday.

Cmdr. Jeremy Samson, the frigate’s commander, said the missile’s flight ended about 30 to 60 seconds after it launched toward a surface target about 55 kilometers from the ship.

“Without going into technical details, there was a problem with the first missile,” Samson said in a telephone interview from the warship on Thursday.

“When you fire a missile at a range, there are safety procedures to ensure the missile does what it’s supposed to do, and losing that communication could lead you to order the destruction of the missile,” he said. he added.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense said the precision-guided missile plunged into the ocean within a radius of 93,000 square kilometers and could not be recovered.

“As safety is paramount during any live-fire military exercise, constant communication between the missile and the firing range is required,” the National Defense spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“These channels are checked before the missile is launched. However, after launch, if communication is lost – even temporarily and for any reason – the range will terminate the missile’s flight.”

HMCS Regina followed the failed shot with a second attempt, which “hit its target and met mission requirements,” the National Defense spokesperson said.

A Harpoon Block II missile fired from HMCS Regina during a joint Canadian-American exercise off the coast of California, October 23, 2024 (Royal Canadian Navy)

The Harpoon Block II missile, estimated to cost more than $2 million each, is not a new weapon for the Royal Canadian Navy.

Another Pacific Fleet frigate, HMCS Vancouver, conducted Canada’s first test of the surface-to-surface missile during the same California-based exercise in 2016.

The introduction of the Harpoon Block II missile, an updated version of the anti-ship missile carried by Canadian frigates for decades, gave warships the ability to attack targets on land as well as at sea.

“Even though we have done it in the past, the targeting process was supposed to be a little more dynamic,” wrote Commodore Dave Mazur, commander of the Canadian Pacific Fleet, in an article on X, referring to the This week’s exercise.

“The firing was similar to what could be seen in the Black Sea, requiring maneuvering around land to hit something that was moving close to land.”

The missiles tested carried sensors in place of warheads to allow controllers to collect data on the missile’s automated processes during flight.

“When the telescope loses this data, it is a crucial step for them – for security reasons – to order the destruction of the missile in flight,” said Samson, the ship’s commander.

Despite the failure of the first missile, the National Defense spokesperson called the exercise a successful demonstration of a “high-level military targeting process,” including the ability to orchestrate and direct long-range naval weapons. carried against land or nearby targets.

The Canadian fleet’s 12 Halifax-class frigates can each carry up to eight Harpoon missiles.