Homebrew cruise missile project squelched

The NZ do-it-yourselfer building a budget cruise missile in his backyard has thrown in the towel, at least for the moment:

Bruce Simpson says he built the missile using parts bought off the internet to show how easily it could be done. He says he attracted considerable interest from potential buyers - including an offer from Iran to pay him for details of his research.

"The New Zealand government at first said I had done nothing illegal. But then a US official was quoted as saying it was 'extremely unhelpful', " Mr Simpson told BBC News Online.

"The authorities here finally decided to bankrupt me over a tax debt and I have now had to give the missile to a friend for safe keeping."

The Register also notes that the project website is still up, and promises that the missile will go into the testing phase in 2004. We shall see.

Posted by David on December 11, 2003 4:58 PM