Washington, Sept 15, SPA -- The Pentagon disclosed that flight-testing "critical new elements" of a missile defense system has been postponed until late this year, The Washington Post reported yesterday. "The Air Force general in charge of the program said the setback will not affect plans to begin operating the system in the next month or two," according to the article. The postponement underscored the "wide disparity in estimates about the system's likely effectiveness that has emerged among key Pentagon officials," the newspaper reported. The chief weapons evaluator at the Pentagon has said that the antimissile system-which is designed to send interceptors into space to destroy incoming missiles-might be capable of hitting its target only 20 percent of the time, the newspaper said. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), which is developing the system, estimates its effectiveness at greater than 80 percent, according to the newspaper. --SPA1203 Local Time 0903 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/201915